- The longest field goal in NFL history is 68 yards, by Cam Little of the Jacksonville Jaguars on November 2, 2025.
- Little also made the second longest: 67 yards on January 4, 2026, the longest ever kicked outdoors.
- Justin Tucker's 66-yard kick in 2021 held the record for four years.
- Six of the eight longest field goals in history have been made since 2024.
A field goal is worth three points. A kicker has to send the ball over a crossbar 10 feet off the ground and between two posts that are 18 feet 6 inches apart.
From close range it is routine. From the far side of midfield it used to be a desperate gamble. That is changing fast.
The longest field goals, ranked
This list covers regular-season games, which is how the NFL keeps the record.
| Yards | Kicker | Team | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 68 | Cam Little | Jaguars | Nov. 2, 2025 |
| 67 | Cam Little | Jaguars | Jan. 4, 2026 |
| 66 | Justin Tucker | Ravens | Sept. 26, 2021 |
| 65 | Chase McLaughlin | Buccaneers | Sept. 28, 2025 |
| 65 | Brandon Aubrey | Cowboys | Sept. 22, 2024 |
| 64 | Tyler Loop | Ravens | Oct. 4, 2026 |
| 64 | Brandon Aubrey | Cowboys | Sept. 14, 2025 |
| 64 | Matt Prater | Broncos | Dec. 8, 2013 |
Below those come eight kicks of 63 yards, by Tom Dempsey, Jason Elam, Sebastian Janikowski, David Akers, Graham Gano, Brett Maher, Joey Slye and Evan McPherson.
How the distance is measured
A field goal is longer than the yard line suggests. The goalposts stand at the back of the end zone, which is 10 yards deep. And the ball is not kicked from where the play starts. It is snapped back about 7 or 8 yards to a teammate who holds it on the ground.
So a kick is measured from the spot where the ball is held to the posts. For his 68-yarder, Little struck the ball from his own side of midfield.
The record: 68 yards
Little set the mark in Las Vegas, in an indoor stadium, on the last play of the first half. The Jaguars went on to beat the Raiders 30-29 in overtime, so those three points mattered.
It was not a surprise to anyone who had watched him that summer. In a preseason game in August 2025 he had made one from 70 yards. Preseason kicks do not count toward the record, so the official mark had to wait.
Two months after the 68, he made a 67-yarder at home against Tennessee. That one was outdoors, with no roof to keep the wind away. No kick outdoors has gone farther.
Tucker's bounce
Before Little, the record belonged to Justin Tucker of Baltimore, and it came with drama. In Detroit in 2021, with the clock at zero and his team losing by one, he tried from 66 yards.
The ball came down on the crossbar, bounced up, and dropped over. Baltimore won 19-17.
The kick that stood for 43 years
In 1970, Tom Dempsey of the New Orleans Saints kicked a 63-yarder on the final play to beat Detroit. The previous record was 56 yards.
Dempsey was born without toes on his right foot, the one he kicked with, and he wore a special shoe with a flat front. His record was tied three times but not beaten until 2013, when Matt Prater hit from 64 in the thin, freezing air of Denver.
The record stood at 63 yards for 43 years. It has been broken three times since 2013.
There is an odd link between two of these kicks. Dempsey's and Tucker's were both last-play winners, both against Detroit, and both games ended 19-17.
Why the kicks keep getting longer
Six of the eight kicks on the list have come since 2024. Several things changed at once.
Kickers are specialists now. Many have trained for nothing else since they were children, with private coaches and video of every swing.
The ball changed too. Under a rule that took effect in 2025, teams can prepare their kicking balls in advance instead of using stiff new ones on game day. A ball that has been worked in travels farther.
And coaches trust their kickers more. A decade ago, a 60-yard attempt was a last resort. Today teams send the kicker out at the end of a half almost without thinking.
One team has seen more of this than any other. Three of the eight kicks above were made against the Tennessee Titans.
Other marks to know
The longest field goal in a playoff game is 58 yards. Pete Stoyanovich did it in 1991 and Graham Gano matched it in 2018.
The longest in a Super Bowl is 57 yards, by Harrison Butker of Kansas City in February 2024.
For the other ways to put points on the board, read football in 10 minutes and the rarest way to score two.