Future Hall of Famer and one of the greatest, if not the greatest, kicker of all time, Adam Vinatieri officially announced his retirement on Wednesday after 24 seasons in the league. The 48-year-old kicker made the announcement on the Pat McAfee show.
Vinatieri started his career with the New England Patriots, quite actually kicking off their first dynasty. His crucial kicks helped the team win their first three championships. He then headed to the Indianapolis Colts, where he won one Super Bowl.
Vinatieri went from being undrafted in 1996 to being NFL's all-time leading scorer. He is a three-time Pro Bowler, has the most consecutive field goals made with 44, the most career field goals made with 599 and the most combined regular season and postseason games played with 397, to list a few stats on his resume.
No. 4 was known for being clutch, and whether the ball was like a brick from the cold and no matter the pressure of the situation, he was always reliable.
Following his announcement, the NFL world reflected on his championship career and shared memories they had with the champ. Here are some tweets about his time in the league:
Game on the line, you want Vinatieri lining up to kick a field goal.
There have been 3 field goals in Super Bowl history to take the lead with under 10 seconds remaining.
— NFLonCBS (@NFLonCBS) May 26, 2021
Adam Vinatieri has 2 of them.
Farewell to a 🐐 of the game. pic.twitter.com/KF5oetl5P7
Looking ahead to No. 4's future:
With the news of @adamvinatieri's retirement announcement today, he would first be eligible for the Hall of Fame in 2025. His last game played was during the 2019 season.@Patriots | @Colts pic.twitter.com/gjVGX5Q5d5
— Pro Football Hall of Fame (@ProFootballHOF) May 26, 2021
Reggie Wayne calls his former teammate a true GOAT.
People use the term G.O.A.T. loosely these days. But @adamvinatieri is truly a 🐐. Congrats on your retirement bro. It was a pleasure to sit back and watch #greatness for many years. #Automatic #colts @Colts pic.twitter.com/5Ql8K0pG0s
— Reggie Wayne (@ReggieWayne_17) May 26, 2021
Joe Andruzzi tweeted a fantastic throwback photo with Vinatieri.
One of the best to ever do it!
— Joe Andruzzi (@Andruzzi63) May 26, 2021
Congrats on an amazing hall of fame career @adamvinatieri! pic.twitter.com/Yjm9ceqxAt
Julian Edelman, who also retired this offseason, is saving Vinatieri a spot at the "old folks home." Edelman also posted about Vinatieri on his Instagram story.
See you at the old folks home bubs. Congrats on the career @adamvinatieri #MrClutch https://t.co/eokaqPCPCK
— Julian Edelman (@Edelman11) May 26, 2021
Patriots head coach Bill Belichick has called Vinatieri's "Snow Bowl" kick the greatest he has ever seen.
Back in 2018, Bill Belichick was asked about Adam Vinatieri’s 45-yard “Snow Bowl” kick. Called it “by far the greatest kick I have ever seen.” pic.twitter.com/qAknHg09Qf
— Phil Perry (@PhilAPerry) May 26, 2021