Jeffrey Richard "J. J." Jansen (born January 20, 1986) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

long snapper In gridiron football, the long snapper (or deep snapper) is a Center (gridiron football), center on American football positions#Special teams, special teams whose duty is to Snap (gridiron football), snap the football over a longer distance, ty ...

for the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He holds the record for the most games played by a Panther with 260, having held the record since Week 14 of 2022 against the Seahawks as his 222nd game. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Notre Dame Fighting Irish The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are the athletic teams that represent the University of Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish participate in 26 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I intercollegiate sports and in the NCAA's Division ...

and was signed by the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

in 2008, but never appeared for the team.

Early life

Jansen attended high school at Brophy College Preparatory in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

. He attended Rancho Solano Private School prior to that, where he starred as

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

, leading the RSPS Mustangs to an MVAL championship in 1999.

Professional career

Green Bay Packers

After going unselected in the 2008 NFL draft, Jansen signed with the

. On August 30, 2008, he was waived/injured. He reverted to

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

the next day and spent the entire 2008 season there.

Carolina Panthers

The Packers traded Jansen to the

for a conditional pick in the

2011 NFL draft The 2011 NFL draft was the 76th installment of the annual National Football League draft, NFL draft, where the franchises of the National Football League select newly eligible football players. Like the 2010 draft, the 2011 draft was held at Rad ...

on April 13, 2009. On February 8, 2012, the Panthers re-signed him to a four-year contract worth roughly $3.6 million. On January 15, 2014, it was announced that he would be one of seven Panthers players to be voted into the 2014 Pro Bowl. On February 7, 2016, Jansen was part of the Panthers team that played in Super Bowl 50. In the game, the Panthers fell to the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

by a score of 24–10. On February 17, 2016, the Panthers signed Jansen to a five-year, $5.5 million contract extension. In Week 3 of the 2020 NFL season against the

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC W ...

, Jansen recovered a punt at the Chargers' one-yard-line near the end of the fourth quarter. The Chargers failed their winning drive by less than 20 yards, the length of a

touchback In American football, a touchback is a ruling that is made and signaled by an official when the ball becomes dead on or behind a team's own goal line (i.e., in their end zone) and the opposing team gave the ball the momentum, or impetus, to travel ...

. On March 17, 2021, Jansen re-signed with the Panthers on a one-year contract. On February 9, 2022, Jansen signed a one-year contract extension with the Panthers. On November 27, 2022, Jansen tied former longtime Panthers kicker John Kasay for most games played for the franchise (221). Jansen signed a one-year contract extension on February 20, 2023, and again the following year on March 11, 2024. After playing in all 17 games for Carolina during the 2024 season, Jansen re-signed with the team on a one-year contract on February 14, 2025.

References

External links

Carolina Panthers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jansen, J. J. 1986 births Living people American football long snappers Notre Dame Fighting Irish football players Green Bay Packers players Carolina Panthers players Unconferenced Pro Bowl players Players of American football from Phoenix, Arizona