Pro Football Hall of Fame kicker Adam Vinatieri is in the record books once again.
Vinatieri played 24 seasons with the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts; in that time, he became the NFL’s all-time leading scorer and all-time leader in field goals attempted and made. On Tuesday, he set the Guinness World Record for the highest field goal made with a kick atop the Swiss Alps, nearly 3,500 meters above sea level.
“Snow is simply part of my time with the Patriots, but kicking a field goal at 3,454 meters is something completely different from anything I’ve ever seen in the NFL,” Vinatieri said in a statement on the Patriots’ website.
“You feel the altitude with every breath you take, your heart rate is different, your rhythm is different, and no one can really tell you beforehand how it will affect the kick, because no one has done this before. The fact that we were able to set the record under these conditions makes me very proud. This is definitely one of the most special field goals I’ve ever made.”
The world record serves as an early introduction to Germany: the Pats play the Detroit Lions at Allianz Arena in Munich on Nov. 15.
The 53-year-old former placekicker set the world record in the packed snows of the Jungfraujoch—also known as the “Top of Europe”—a saddle between two peaks above 4000 meters in the Swiss Alps. The saddle and the surrounding Aletsch Glacier are a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Guinness World Records was on hand to record the event, as were Patriots social media personnel and former offensive tackle Sebastian Vollmer, a native of Germany.
“When it comes to snow, no one can hold a candle to the Patriots,” Vollmer said. “Adam just proved that again up here. And he set a strong tone with a view to Munich: Every week I see how many people in Germany, Austria and Switzerland stand by this team. And everyone is looking forward to November 15, when the Patriots play over here for the second time. Munich, here we come.”
It is Vinatieri’s second Guinness World Record. In 2017, during the festivities before Super Bowl LI in Houston, Tex., Vinatieri set the world record for Most American Football field goals made in one minute. The legendary leg—still playing for the Colts at the time—nailed 28 kicks; in doing so, he secured a $15,000 contribution from Barclaycard to the Pat Tillman Foundation as part of the NFL Extra Points Charity Kick.
Over his 24-year career, Vinatieri set multiple NFL records. His 2,673 career points are the most in league history; as are his 715 field goal attempts and 599 makes. He owns the league record for most regular-season wins by a kicker with 226, the second-most wins by a player at any position behind former teammate Tom Brady.
He is the oldest player in history to make a 50+ yard field goal, a 55+ yard field goal, and multiple 50+ yard field goals in a single game. He made 44 consecutive field goals, also a league record.
Vinatieri is a four-time Super Bowl champion, winning three with the Pats and one with the Colts. He is a three-time First-Team All-Pro and a three-time Pro Bowler; a member of the 2000s All-Decade Team and the 100th anniversary All-Time team. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2026.
Adam Vinatieri #4 of the Indianapolis Colts attempts a field goal during the first quarter against the Buffalo Bills at New Era Field in Orchard Park, New York state, on Dec. 10, 2017. (Brett Carlsen/Getty Images)
In the 2001 AFC Divisional Playoff game between the Patriots and the Oakland Raiders, he kicked a 45-yarder through driving snow to tie the game at 13 and send it to overtime; he then kicked a game-winning 23-yarder in the extra period.
In the 2017 season, Vinatieri was called out for an extra point in a regular-season game between the Colts and Buffalo Bills. With the wind against him and lake-effect snow piled up on the field, Vinatieri squeezed the kick inside the upright to tie the game, though the Colts lost in overtime.
