Adam Vinatieri Returning To The Colts At Age 45
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- Adam Vinatieri just may kick footballs professionally until the end of time.
The 45-year-old future Hall of Famer agreed to a deal this week that will keep him with the Colts for another season. The deal had been rumored all week, but Adam Schefter reported on Thursday that it had been agreed upon.
The 2018 season will be Vinatieri's 13th year with the Colts, a second act of a career that began with 10 seasons spent with the New England Patriots. For the Patriots, Vinatieri played in all 160 regular-season games from 1996-2005, plus 15 playoff games. He played in four Super Bowls with the Patriots, winning three, kicking late game-winning field goals in two, and scoring the winning points in the third.
He signed with the Colts as a free agent after the 2005 season, and he's since played in 177 of a possible 192 regular-season games, plus 13 playoff games. He won another Super Bowl in 2006, successfully kicking 14 of 15 field goals on the Colts' four-game playoff run.
Last year in 15 games, Vinatieri successfully kicked 29 of 34 field goals and 22 of 24 extra points. Two of those missed field goals came in blizzard conditions in Buffalo, though. In his five full seasons after turning 40 years old, Vinatieri has successfully kicked 90 percent of his field goals and 97 percent of his extra point attempts.
He made his NFL debut on Sept. 1, 1996, in a 24-10 Dolphins win over the Patriots. Later that season, he created a somewhat legendary clip, in which he chases down Herschel Walker on a kickoff return:
Vinatieri has been a part of 225 wins in his career, which is an all-time NFL record. Tom Brady ranks second with 223. The two old-timers and former teammates will have at least one more season to add to their career totals.
