Thomas James Feely (born May 23, 1976) is a former 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 ...

player. He started his playing career as a

placekicker In gridiron football, the placekicker (PK), or simply kicker (K), is the player responsible for attempts at scoring Field goal (football), field goals and extra points. In most cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist ...

with the Florida Bobcats in the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...

(AFL) as a free agent in 1999 before playing for several

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) teams. Following his retirement, until 2025, Feely worked as a reporter and analyst for the NFL on CBS. Feely 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

Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except wo ...

. He was also a member of the AFL's

Tampa Bay Storm The Tampa Bay Storm were a professional arena football team based in Tampa, Florida, US. It played in the Arena Football League (AFL). Originally the team was located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and operated as the Pittsburgh Gladiators. The ...

and in the NFL with the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

, and

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

. He was a member of the ''

Pro Football Weekly ''Pro Football Weekly'' (sometimes shortened to ''PFW'') is an American sports magazine, founded in 1967, and website that covers the National Football League (NFL). It was owned by Pro Football Weekly LLC and headquartered in Riverwoods, Illin ...

'' All-Rookie Team with the Falcons in 2001. In 2025, Feely announced he would run for

Arizona's 5th congressional district Arizona's 5th congressional district is a congressional district located in the U.S. state of Arizona, currently represented by Republican Andy Biggs. The district contains Gilbert, Queen Creek, southern and eastern Chandler, and eastern ...

as a Republican in 2026. Feely is seeking to succeed

Andy Biggs Andrew Steven Biggs (born November 7, 1958) is an American lawyer and politician who represents in the United States House of Representatives. The district, which was once represented by U.S. Senators John McCain and Jeff Flake, is in the he ...

, who is running for

governor of Arizona A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

Early years

Feely attended Jesuit High School in

Tampa, Florida Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

. While there, he set Hillsborough County career and season records for field goals and

extra point Extra, Xtra, or The Extra may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film * The Extra (1962 film), ''The Extra'' (1962 film), a Mexican film * The Extra (2005 film), ''The Extra'' (2005 film), an Australian film Literature * Extra (newspaper), ...

s. Feely played for the Temple Terrace Spirit Soccer team that won the National Championships when he was 16 years old.

College career

Feely was a four-year letterman at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

from 1995 to 1998. As a senior in 1998, he converted 17 of 22 field goal attempts and 40 of 41 point-after attempts on his way to a mention for the All-Big Ten team. His longest career field goal was 51-yard kick against Baylor as a junior. He finished his career 20-for-26 in field goals and 43-for-44 in extra points.

Professional career

Florida Bobcats

After going undrafted in the 1999 NFL draft, Feely kicked for the Florida Bobcats of the

. That season, he went 2-for-5 in field goal attempts and 8-for-13 in extra point attempts. He added three tackles (two solo) and forced a fumble.

Tampa Bay Storm

Feely kicked for the

in 2000, converting one of six field goal attempts and three of four extra point attempts. He returned one kickoff for 22 yards.

Atlanta Falcons

In March 2001, Feely worked out for the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

but was not signed. On April 12, he signed a one-year, $209,000 contract with the

. Although Jake Arians had been expected to be the Falcons' placekicker during the 2001 season, Feely won the job. As a rookie with the Falcons in 2001, Feely converted 29 of 37 field goal attempts (78.4%) and all 28 extra point attempts. He also converted 14 of 15 field goals away from the

Georgia Dome The Georgia Dome was a Stadium#Types, domed stadium in the Southeastern United States. Located in Atlanta between downtown Atlanta, downtown to the east and Vine City to the west, it was owned and operated by the State of Georgia as part of th ...

. His 115 points tied him with the Eagles'

David Akers David Roy Akers (; born December 9, 1974) is an American former professional football player who was a kicker in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons, primarily with the Philadelphia Eagles. He began his career in 1998 with the Wa ...

for second in the NFC, behind only

Rams In engineering, reliability, availability, maintainability and safety (RAMS)Jeff Wilkins. Feely converted a 55-yard attempt against the

on September 30. He also caught one pass for -2 yards from Falcons punter Chris Mohr on a fake field goal attempt. For his performance during the season, Feely was a consensus all-rookie selection. An exclusive-rights free agent in the 2002 offseason, Feely was tendered a one-year, $300,000 contract by the Falcons on February 22. He signed the deal on June 7. That season, he converted 32 of 40 field goal attempts (80 percent) and all but one of 43 extra point attempts. His 32 field goals tied him with

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

kicker Martín Gramática for most in the NFL. It also broke

Morten Andersen Morten Andersen (born 19 August 1960), nicknamed "the Great Dane", is a Danish-American former professional football kicker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 25 seasons, most notably with the New Orleans Saints and Atlanta F ...

's previous franchise record of 31 set in 1995. Feely earned NFL Special Teams Player of the Week honors after converting three field goals of more than 40 yards against 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 ...

on October 20, and eventually earned NFC Special Teams Player of the Month honors for converting 9 of 10 field goals and all nine points after touchdowns. In 2003, Feely converted 19 of 27 field goal attempts (70.4 percent) and 32 of 33 extra point attempts. On March 6, 2004, the Falcons re-signed Feely – a

restricted free agent A restricted free agent (RFA) is a type of free agent in some sports leagues, such as the National Football League (NFL), National Hockey League (NHL), and National Basketball Association (NBA). Such players have special restrictions on the term ...

– to a one-year contract worth $628,000. That season, he achieved a field goal percentage of 78.3 by converting 18 of 23 tries. He connected on all 40 of his extra point attempts that season. On September 19 against the

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1995 through the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, California, where the team had played ...

, he recovered his own onside kick. In two playoff games, Feely was a perfect 2-for-2 in field goals and 7-for-7 on PATs.

New York Giants

unrestricted 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 the 2005 offseason, Feely signed a three-year deal with the

on March 12. The contract included base salaries of $540,000 (2005), $545,000 (2006) and $550,000 (2007). In a preseason game against the

that year, Feely scored all his team's points in a 15–14 victory by connecting on five field goals, including two over 50 yards. In week 12 in 2005 at the Seahawks however, Feely failed to connect on 3 consecutive potential game-winning field goals, and the Giants lost 24–21 despite compiling 490 yards total offense. The Giants ended up in a wild-card playoff game where they lost to Carolina. Feely broke the New York Giants franchise record for best field goal percentage over a two-year period. He had an 83% followed by an 85% year while with the Giants.

Miami Dolphins

As a free agent in the 2007 offseason, the

signed Feely to a three-year contract worth just under $5 million on March 8. The team subsequently traded placekicker Olindo Mare to the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

on April 3. During his first season with the Dolphins, experienced the most productive season of his career and in franchise history. He missed just two of his 23 field goal attempts, setting a new franchise record for field goal percentage at 91.3. The record had previously been 90.5 percent by Mare in 2001. Through the 2007 season, Feely had converted 164 straight extra point attempts and had created five recovered onside kicks. During the 2008 offseason, it was reported that new Dolphins Vice President

Bill Parcells Duane Charles "Bill" Parcells ( ; born August 22, 1941) is an American former football coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for 19 seasons. He came to prominence as the head coach of the New York Giants from 19 ...

did not like Feely's outspoken nature and that he would not be assured a roster spot despite his 2007 success. The Dolphins released fellow kicker Dave Rayner on June 6, leaving only undrafted rookie

Dan Carpenter Daniel Roy Carpenter (born November 25, 1985) is an American former professional football player who was a placekicker in the National Football League (NFL). He was signed by the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted free agent in 2008 after playing c ...

(

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

) to challenge Feely for the team's placekicking job in 2008. He was released by the Dolphins on August 12, 2008.

Kansas City Chiefs

On August 25, 2008, Feely was signed by the

, and released one day later.

New York Jets

After

kicker Mike Nugent was injured in the team's Week 1 contest against the

, they signed Feely on September 8, 2008. On November 13, Feely kicked a game-winning 34-yard field goal in overtime against the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

; the Jets took sole possession of first place in the

AFC East The American Football Conference – Eastern Division or AFC East is one of the four Division (sport), divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). There are currently four teams that reside in th ...

for the first time since November 19, 2001. Through 10 games, Feely had made 16 of his 20 field goal attempts (80.0%), with an average of 35.1 yards and a long of 55 yards and converted all 23 PATs for a total of 71 points. Feely reportedly began working out his upper body five days a week in the Jets new training facility, saying, "I work out hard in the weight room just so I don't get injured." His workout primarily centered on deadlifts.Profile
sports.yahoo.com;accessed August 16, 2015. Jay-Feely-Jets-vs-Rams-Nov-9-08

On March 4, 2009, Feely re-signed a one-year contract with the Jets. In Week Six of the 2009 season against the Buffalo Bills, Feely broke Pat Leahy's record of 23 consecutive field goals, hitting his 24th. However, he missed his next attempt in the second-quarter, leaving the team record at 24. On December 21, 2009, Feely went 0–2 in field goal attempts. He "shanked" a 38-yard try and had a 37-yarder blocked, as the Jets lost to the

10–7. On January 9, 2010, Feely recorded his first career punt in a playoff game against the Cincinnati Bengals, when he was unexpectedly pressed into service after his teammate Steve Weatherford was sidelined with an

irregular heartbeat Arrhythmias, also known as cardiac arrhythmias, are irregularities in the heartbeat, including when it is too fast or too slow. Essentially, this is anything but normal sinus rhythm. A resting heart rate that is too fast – above 100 beats ...

Arizona Cardinals

Feely signed with the

on April 2, 2010. On December 12, 2010, Feely became just the fourth kicker in 40 years to run for a touchdown, scoring on a fake field goal against 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 ...

. Feely also kicked a career-high five field goals in the game. Feely scored 25 points in that game, the most points scored by a player in a single game since October 21, 2007, when

Rob Bironas James Robert Douglas Bironas (January 29, 1978 – September 20, 2014) was an American professional football placekicker who played the majority of his professional career with the Tennessee Titans. He played college football for Auburn Universit ...

scored 26 against the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

. On Christmas Day in 2010, Feely kicked a 48-yard field goal for a win over the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

. On October 14, 2012, in a Week 6 matchup against the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

, Feely hit a 61-yard field goal, setting a new career best. However, in the same game, his 38-yard field goal attempt was deflected with 3 seconds left in the fourth quarter, which the Cardinals went on to lose 16–19 in OT. Feely re-signed with the Cardinals for the 2014 season. The Cardinals released Feely on August 25, 2014.

Chicago Bears

The

signed Feely on December 3, 2014, as injury cover for Robbie Gould when he was considered doubtful for the game against the

. Feely played the remaining four games of the season for the Chicago Bears, three of which were at

Soldier Field Soldier Field is a multi-purpose stadium on the Near South Side, Chicago, Near South Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Opened in 1924 and reconstructed in 2003, the stadium has served as the home of the Chicago Bears from the National ...

Career regular season statistics

In the media

Feely appeared on '' ESPN First Take'', and also with his wife Rebecca, on ''A Baby Story'' on

TLC TLC may refer to: Arts and entertainment Television * ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2 * TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network ** TLC (Asia), an A ...

, which aired January 11, 2006. After missing three field goals for the Giants in an overtime loss to the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

in 2005, Feely was the subject of a ''Saturday Night Live'' sketch. The

NFL Films NFL Productions, LLC, doing business as NFL Films, is the film and television production company of the National Football League. It produces advertisement film, commercials, television programs, feature films, and documentary film, documentaries ...

parody, entitled ''The Long Ride Home: The Jay Feely Story'', featured comedian

Dane Cook Dane Jeffrey Cook (born March 18, 1972) is an American stand-up comedian and film actor. He is known for his use of observational comedy, observational, often blue comedy, vulgar, and sometimes black comedy, dark comedy. He released six comedy ...

as Feely on the Giants' five-hour flight home from Seattle, where he is forced to land the plane through two large radio towers that look like field goal posts. Feely joined the

CBS Sports Network CBS Sports Network (a.k.a. CBSSN) is an American digital cable and satellite television network owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global. When it launched in 2002 as the National College Sports Network (later College Sports ...

in 2015 as a color analyst covering college football. Beginning in 2017, Feely also served as a color commentator for CBS' NFL telecasts, working alongside Beth Mowins, the first full-time female NFL play-by-play announcer. In 2018, he was set to be color analyst with play-by-play partner Mowins on the #8 team of NFL on CBS for Weeks 13 and 17, but he settled for sideline reporter for Weeks 10 and 17 as the #5 announcing team. He also joined neurosurgeon,

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

medical reporter and fellow Michigan alum Sanjay Gupta as a commentator on the Wolverines' TeamCast for the school's appearance in the 2018 NCAA Men's Final Four, airing on

TNT Troponin T (shortened TnT or TropT) is a part of the troponin complex, which are proteins integral to the contraction of skeletal and heart muscles. They are expressed in skeletal and cardiac myocytes. Troponin T binds to tropomyosin and helps ...

. When he is not working as analyst, he is the reporter for the #4 team for the NFL on CBS. In 2021, Feely teamed up with Dedes and started on the #7 team of NFL on CBS for Week 1 while

James Lofton James David Lofton (born July 5, 1956) is an American former professional football player and coach. He played in the National Football League (NFL) as a wide receiver for the Green Bay Packers (1978–1986), Los Angeles Raiders (1987&nda ...

was away; Andrew Catalon and Tiki Barber teamed up as the #6 announcing team, and Tom McCarthy and Aaron Taylor teamed up as the #5 announcing team. He and Dedes served the #6 team of NFL on CBS for the rest of the 2021 and 2022 seasons. In 2023, Feely teamed up with Tom McCarthy and Lofton to stay at the #6 team.

Personal life

A number of Feely's family members have also been involved in sports. His grandfather, Thomas J. Feely was a college basketball and baseball coach for St. Thomas College in

St. Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 311,527, making it Minnesota's second-most populous city a ...

from the early 1950s to 1984. He was inducted into the N.A.I.A. National Basketball Hall of Fame both as a coach and as a player. Feely's father, Thomas J. "T.J." Feely, is a former College of St. Thomas running back and also a tennis coach who owns the Feely Kicking School of Tampa, Florida. Feely enjoys golf and has played with the Mater Dei golf team on multiple occasions. Feely and his wife, Rebecca, live in Arizona. The couple have four children, one of whom, Jace, is the kicker for the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, the University of Colorado Denver, and the U ...

. Feely is also close friends with former college teammates

Tom Brady Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. (born August 3, 1977) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 23 seasons. He spent his first 20 seasons with the New Engla ...

and Desmond Howard. Feely has appeared on

Fox News The Fox News Channel (FNC), commonly known as Fox News, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conservatism in the United States, conservative List of news television channels, news and political commentary Television stati ...

' ''

Hannity ''Hannity'' is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative television political Talk show, talk program on Fox News hosted by Sean Hannity. Episodes air live at 9:00 p.m. from Monday through Thursday, while episodes that ai ...

'' talking about his disagreements with President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

's policies and whether he is running for president. In 2011, Feely became a member of School of the Legends, and contributes to the organization with instructional videos, which focus on his position as a kicker. Feely is a supporter of

President Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

, and called it an honor to play golf with him on August 15, 2020. In April 2025, Feely told ESPN that he would run as a Republican for the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

in 2026, seeking to succeed

, who is running for

. During his campaign, he described himself as a fiscal conservative,

social conservative Social conservatism is a political philosophy and a variety of conservatism which places emphasis on traditional social structures over social pluralism. Social conservatives organize in favor of duty, traditional values and social institu ...

, and "pro-business", endorsing Trump's Liberation Day tariffs.

Notes

References

External links

*
ArenaFan bioNew York Jets bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Feely, Jay 1976 births Living people Players of American football from Hillsborough County, Florida People from Odessa, Florida Players of American football from Pasco County Florida People from Upper Saddle River, New Jersey Players of American football from Saint Paul, Minnesota American football placekickers Michigan Wolverines football players Florida Bobcats players Tampa Bay Storm players Atlanta Falcons players New York Giants players Miami Dolphins players Kansas City Chiefs players New York Jets players Arizona Cardinals players Chicago Bears players Jesuit High School (Tampa) alumni College football announcers NFL announcers Players of American football from Bergen County, New Jersey Arizona Republicans