Dome Patrol & The First Winners- Pro Football Hall of Famer
- Saints Hall of Fame
- Franchise Legend
Morten Andersen
- Position
- KSpecialist
- Number
- #7
- Saints years
- 1982–1994
- NFL career
- 1982–2007
- Era
- Dome Patrol & The First Winners
- Franchise
- New Orleans Saints
Honors
- Pro Football Hall of Fame
- New Orleans Saints Hall of Fame
- NFL career scoring record at his retirement
- 7x Pro Bowl
- NFL 1980s All-Decade Team
Also played for Atlanta Falcons (1995–2000), New York Giants / Kansas City Chiefs (2001–2002), Atlanta Falcons (second stint) (2006–2007).
Why he’s a legend
The legacy
Morten Andersen came to Louisiana from Denmark as an exchange student who had never played American football, and left the NFL twenty-five years later as its all-time leading scorer. Thirteen of those seasons were in New Orleans, where he remains the franchise’s career points leader. He is one of only two pure placekickers in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Why he matters
- Pro Football Hall of Fame, Class of 2017 — only the second placekicker ever enshrined.
- The Saints’ all-time leading scorer, with 1,318 points across thirteen seasons.
- He retired holding the NFL records for career points (2,544), games played (382) and field goals made (565).
- Seven Pro Bowl selections, six of them as a Saint, and a place on the NFL’s All-Decade Team of the 1980s.
- He played in the NFL until he was 47, which is the longest career any position player has had.
Defining moment
Twenty-five seasons
Andersen kicked in his first NFL game in 1982 and his last in 2007. In between he outlasted five head coaches in New Orleans, the entire Dome Patrol, and most of the players who were in the league when he arrived. Longevity is not usually a highlight; in his case it is the whole argument.
Career statistics
Current through the 2007 season
With the Saints
- Points
- 1,318
- Field Goals Made
- 302
- Seasons
- 13
Full NFL career(1982–2007, all teams)
- Points
- 2,544
- Field Goals Made
- 565
- Games
- 382
- Seasons
- 25
Where he ranks
- #1All-Time Saints Points1,318Saints all-time
- #1All-Time Saints Field Goals Made302Saints all-time
- #1NFL Career Points2,544NFL all-time · at his retirement in 2007
- #1NFL Career Games Played382NFL all-time · at his retirement in 2007
Honors & accolades
Championships & enshrinement
- Pro Football Hall of FameClass of 2017
- New Orleans Saints Hall of Fame
League awards & All-Pro
- NFL 1980s All-Decade Team
Selections & records
- 7x Pro BowlSix with New Orleans, one with Atlanta
- NFL career scoring record at his retirement2,544 points
- Saints career scoring record holder1,318 points
Career timeline
26 seasons in the NFL, 13 of them in New Orleans.
- 1982New Orleans SaintsDrafted in the fourth round out of Michigan State
- 1983New Orleans Saints
- 1984New Orleans Saints
- 1985New Orleans Saints
- 1986New Orleans SaintsPro Bowl selection during the franchise’s turn toward respectability
- 1987New Orleans SaintsKicks for the first winning team in franchise history
- 1988New Orleans Saints
- 1989New Orleans Saints
- 1990New Orleans Saints
- 1991New Orleans Saints
- 1992New Orleans Saints
- 1993New Orleans Saints
- 1994New Orleans Saints
- 1995Atlanta FalconsLeaves New Orleans as the franchise’s all-time leading scorer
- 1996Atlanta Falcons
- 1997Atlanta Falcons
- 1998Atlanta Falcons
- 1999Atlanta Falcons
- 2000Atlanta Falcons
- 2001New York Giants / Kansas City Chiefs
- 2002New York Giants / Kansas City Chiefs
- 2003Team not recorded
- 2004Team not recorded
- 2005Team not recorded
- 2006Atlanta Falcons (second stint)
- 2007Atlanta Falcons (second stint)Retires as the NFL’s all-time leading scorer at age 47
Era context
What the league looked like while Morten Andersen played it. Raw totals across eras are not like-for-like.
Dome Patrol & The First Winners
1981–1996
The franchise finally wins — and builds the best linebacking corps the NFL had seen.
- Sacks became an official NFL statistic in 1982, so career sack totals begin there.
- The 1982 season was shortened to nine games by a players strike; 1987 was shortened to fifteen, three of them played by replacement players.
- The salary cap arrived in 1994 and changed how long a roster could stay together.
- The Saints reached the playoffs four times in this era and did not win a postseason game.
Data & sources
Statistics on this profile are current through the 2007 season.
- His career records for points, games and field goals were later passed by Adam Vinatieri; the figures above are what he held at his retirement.
- Field goal attempts and percentage by season are not compiled in this profile, so no season-by-season table is shown.
