Harry Kane’s +500 Dream of One Day Making It Big in the NFL

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From soccer player to NFL kicker

It’s not unusual for pro-soccer players to want to make the transition to the NFL – their skills align nicely. Both require the ability to kick powerfully and accurately, sometimes from long distance, while always keeping a cool head. 

So, often for those who fail to make it to the very top level of soccer, it’s an enticing prospect. Just one NFL contract would likely dwarf their soccer earnings in one go, and so many have tried. What is more unusual, though, is to learn of the NFL ambitions of a soccer player who is playing at the sport’s most elite level.

one of the few players on the planet who could choose his team from any in the world

Harry Kane is one of soccer’s hottest properties and is one of the few players on the planet who could choose his team from any in the world. There is not one that wouldn’t want Kane leading their forward line.  

Record-breaking Harry

Even though he is now 32 years old, Kane’s ability to score goals is unabated. He breaks records wherever he goes and, as well as being the leading goalscorer for both Tottenham Hotspur and England, at his current club, Bayern Munich, he scored the most goals in a debut season (36 in 2023-24).   

For most elite players, this would be enough, along with the Bundesliga title winners’ medals he has won at Bayern, but it isn’t.

Kane dreams of being an NFL kicker. Right now, he is listed at +500 to land a field goal in a regular-season NFL game. It’s something the London-born striker has spoken about many times and, even in the last few weeks, has spoken of.

“It is always something that’s in the back of my mind,” he said recently.

Practice makes a perfect NFL kicker

Back in 2023, when questioned about his NFL ambitions, Kane said, “I know it will be a lot of hard work … I’m not expecting to just rock up and start kicking field goals. It would be a lot of practice.”

Kane’s love of all things NFL is said to date back to 2011, when he watched a documentary about legendary New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. He was immediately hooked and, as a result, became a Patriots fan.

encouraged him to consider pursuing an NFL kicking career

In 2019, he went to Atlanta to watch the Patriots win Super Bowl LIII when they defeated the LA Rams 13-3, and afterwards met Brady and his teammate Julian Edelman, a Patriots wide receiver. He became friends with both, and they encouraged him to consider pursuing an NFL kicking career when his soccer-playing days were over.   

A penalty king

During an appearance on Good Morning America, also in 2023, Kane reiterated his desire to have a serious crack at being an NFL kicker.

“It is something I want to definitely explore … the NFL is something I’ve been following for about ten years now. I love it, so I would love to give it a go.”

Two years earlier, when Kane appeared on The Overlap, a podcast hosted by former England international soccer player and now pundit, Gary Neville, he was again asked about his NFL dream, and likened the skills required of an NFL kicker to those of a soccer player who’s taking a penalty. It was an interesting comparison given that Kane is widely regarded as one of the best penalty takers in world soccer.

And the statistics prove it. During his senior soccer-playing career, Kane has scored 93 out of 105 penalties (not including penalty shoot-outs), and since missing for England against France in the 2022 World Cup finals, has missed just once!

A test of nerve…

He spoke to Neville of the pressure of taking a penalty in a big game.

“A lot of people can score penalties in training or kick it a long way, but can you do it under pressure when the moment’s big, when the game’s on the line? That aspect is the bit where maybe I have a bit of an advantage over some younger people coming through.”

highest profile soccer player to play in the NFL

All of which will be of huge interest to the NFL recruitment teams when Kane finally decides to call time on his soccer career. But, while he would be, by some way, the highest profile soccer player to play in the NFL, others, as mentioned earlier in this piece, have also made the transition.

Super Bowl ring for Fritsch

Going back to the 1960s, Austrian footballer Toni Fritsch decided to quit soccer at the age of 26 to pursue an NFL career after being head-hunted by the Dallas Cowboys. The Texas franchise targeted Europe for a kicker after soccer-style kicking became the norm in the NFL, and Fritsch was their chosen player.

Fritsch went on to win a Super Bowl ring when the Cowboys won in 1972, even though he missed the game through injury. Others to have made NFL careers for themselves after starting out as soccer players in Europe are Garo Yepremian, Morten Andersen, Jan Stenerud, Toni Linhart, and Neil O’Donoghue.

Before Kane, the highest-profile English soccer player to give it a go was renowned Tottenham and QPR goal-scorer Clive Allen, who, aged 35, played a few games for the London Monarchs in the now-defunct NFL European Series in 1997.

Allen made six out of six field goals and seven out of 10 extra points, but none of his field goals were from further than 40 yards. His NFL dream began and ended there.

Many have tried – a few have succeeded

Someone who did make it to the US but who is still awaiting his NFL breakthrough is 23-year-old Welshman, Jacob Hathaway. The former semi-pro soccer player is currently kicking for Middle Tennessee State University and is making a name for himself in college football. So far this season, he has kicked six field goals, including one from over 50 yards. More of the same, and Hathaway will be edging himself closer to a future NFL draft.

still kicking field goals despite being in their early 40s

Currently in the NFL, kickers Brandon Aubrey (Dallas Cowboys), Harrison Butker (Kansas City Chiefs), and Cairo Santos (Chicago Bears) are all ex-soccer players, while Nick Folk (New York Jets) and Matt Prater (Buffalo Bills) are both still kicking field goals despite being in their early 40s.

So, for Kane, it is definitely not too late. His current Bayern deal runs until 2027, at which point he will be 34, and even if he opts to sign a contract extension, there is still plenty of time to fulfil his NFL dream. At odds of +500 for him to kick an NFL field goal at some point in his life, this is definitely one to keep an eye on.

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