A fair catch kick is an extremely obscure and rarely used rule in American Football, which allows a team that makes a fair catch of a punt or kickoff to immediately attempt to score with a free kick. If the free kick goes through the uprights, the kicking team scores three points, as if they had kicked a field goal.
The fair catch kick differs from a normal field goal attempt in several crucial respects. Unlike a field goal attempt, the ball is spotted and kicked from the location of the fair catch, rather than seven or eight yards back. The defense is not allowed to rush the kicking team, but instead must line up 10 yards back from the spot of the ball. This allows the kicker to get a full running start (as in a kickoff) rather than a two step start as in a normal field goal attempt. The fair catch kick also does not use up any time, nor require there to be any time left on the clock, so it may be attempted even if there is no more time left in the game.
The fair catch kick is an ancient holdover from the original rules of rugby. It is still legal in American high school football and the NFL but has long since been made illegal in college football and is no longer legal even in rugby. In current high school rules, the kicker is allowed to use a tee, just as in a kickoff, but in the NFL the kicker must either drop kick the ball or have a teammate hold it.
The fair catch kick is so rare because there are hardly any situations where it would make any sense to use it. Most punts or kickoffs send the ball deep into the offense's territory, too far away from the uprights for a kick to make it through. Thus if there is any time at all on the clock, most teams would rather run one or more plays from scrimmage in an effort to either score a touchdown or get closer for an attempt at a normal field goal. Thus, attempting a fair catch kick only makes sense at the very end of the first or second half, when there is no time left on the clock, and the opposing team punts or kicks a ball short enough to be fair caught relatively close to their uprights. This sort of situation is made even rarer by the fact that most well-coached teams will be aware of this obscure rule and attempt to avoid letting it come into play by kicking the ball as far as possible or kicking it out of bounds. And even if the situation does come into play, it only makes sense to try for a fair catch kick if the three points might reasonably make a difference in the game.
Only five fair catch kicks have ever been successfully completed in all of NFL history, the most recent occurring in 1976. Another 16 fair catch kicks have been attempted but failed. The most recent attempt occurred in 2019.
Fair Catch Kick Attempts in NFL History
Date |
Kicker |
Team |
Opponent |
Yards |
Result |
Game time |
November 20, 1933 |
Ken Strong |
New York Giants |
Green Bay Packers |
30 |
good |
3rd quarter |
October 23, 1955 |
Ben Agajanian |
New York Giants |
Pittsburgh Steelers |
56 |
missed |
0:30, 2nd |
November 2, 1958 |
Gordy Soltau |
San Francisco 49ers |
Detroit Lions |
61 |
wide right |
0:15, 2nd |
September 13, 1964 |
Sam Baker |
Philadelphia Eagles |
New York Giants |
47 |
short |
0:00, 2nd |
September 13, 1964 |
Paul Hornung |
Green Bay Packers |
Chicago Bears |
52 |
good |
0:00, 2nd |
December 4, 1966 |
Fred Cox |
Minnesota Vikings |
Atlanta Falcons |
40 |
good |
0:00, 2nd |
November 23, 1967 |
Bruce Gossett |
Los Angeles Rams |
Detroit Lions |
55 |
short |
0:03, 2nd |
November 3, 1968 |
Mac Percival |
Chicago Bears |
Green Bay Packers |
43 |
good |
0:20, 4th |
December 8, 1968 |
Fred Cox |
Minnesota Vikings |
San Francisco 49ers |
47 |
short |
0:00, 2nd |
October 5, 1969 |
Curt Knight |
Washington Redskins |
San Francisco 49ers |
56 |
wide left |
0:02, 4th |
November 23, 1969 |
Tom Dempsey |
New Orleans Saints |
San Francisco 49ers |
57 |
short/wide left |
0:00, 2nd |
November 1, 1970 |
Curt Knight |
Washington Redskins |
Denver Broncos |
49 |
missed |
0:00, 2nd |
November 8, 1971 |
David Ray |
Los Angeles Rams |
Baltimore Colts |
45 |
missed |
0:00, 2nd |
November 21, 1976 |
Ray Wersching |
San Diego Chargers |
Buffalo Bills |
45 |
good |
0:00, 2nd |
November 25, 1979 |
Mark Moseley |
Washington Redskins |
New York Giants |
74 |
short |
4th quarter |
September 29, 1980 |
Fred Steinfort |
Denver Broncos |
New England Patriots |
73 |
missed |
0:00, 2nd |
November 18, 1984 |
Raul Allegre |
Indianapolis Colts |
New England Patriots |
61 |
short |
0:00, 2nd |
January 1, 1989 |
Mike Cofer |
San Francisco 49ers |
Minnesota Vikings |
60 |
short |
0:00, 2nd |
October 9, 2005 |
Rob Bironas |
Tennessee Titans |
Houston Texans |
58 |
short |
0:00, 2nd |
November 23, 2008 |
Neil Rackers |
Arizona Cardinals |
New York Giants |
68 |
short |
0:05, 2nd |
December 28, 2008 |
Mason Crosby |
Green Bay Packers |
Detroit Lions |
69 |
short |
0:00, 2nd |
September 26, 2013 |
Phil Dawson |
San Francisco 49ers |
St. Louis Rams |
71 |
missed |
0:04, 2nd |
October 13, 2019 |
Joey Slye |
Carolina Panthers |
Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
60 |
missed |
0:01, 2nd |