Neil William Rackers (born August 16, 1976) is an American 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 who was 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 ...

for 12 seasons in 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 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

Illinois Fighting Illini The Illinois Fighting Illini () are the College athletics, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The university offers 10 men's and 11 women's Varsity team, varsity sports. The university op ...

. Rackers was selected by the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

in the sixth round of the

2000 NFL draft The 2000 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur U.S. college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 15– 16, 2000, at the Theat ...

, and also played for the NFL's

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

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 ...

Early life

Rackers attended Aquinas-Mercy High School in

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

and was a student and a letterman in

, soccer and baseball. In football, he was a two-year letterman and an All-Conference selection. In soccer, Rackers led his team to consecutive state titles and was an All-State selection. In baseball, he was an All-Conference selection.

Professional career

Cincinnati Bengals

Rackers was selected in the sixth round of the

with the 169th overall pick by the

. He played three seasons for the team, making 44 out of 67 field goals.

Arizona Cardinals

On October 24, 2004, Rackers tied a record by kicking three field goals of 50 yards or more (doing so from 50, 55, and 55 yards), doing so against 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 ...

. He was the second kicker to kick three 50+ yard field goals in the same game and also kick two from 55 yards since Morten Anderson did so in 1995. His two kicks in the second quarter made him the first kicker to kick two 50+ field goals in one quarter. When Josh Brown kicked one from 54 yards for the Seahawks, it marked the first game in NFL history where four field goals of 50 yards or more were kicked in the same game. The cleats that Rackers wore in the game (a 25–17 win) were sent to the

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional football (gridiron), professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, 1963, the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of profes ...

after the game. Rackers reached and or surpassed 20

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 ...

s in a season twice in his career, and once had a streak of 31 consecutive

field goals A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. Consequently, a ...

made before missing a 43-yarder in 2005 against the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

. On

New Year's Day In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Day is the first day of the calendar year, January 1, 1 January. Most solar calendars, such as the Gregorian and Julian calendars, begin the year regularly at or near the December solstice, northern winter ...

in 2006, Rackers kicked his 40th field goal of the season, an NFL record. He was rewarded with a spot in that year's

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...

. He is also one of the few players in NFL history to attempt a

fair catch kick The fair catch kick is a rule at the professional and high school levels of American football that allows a team that has just made a fair catch to attempt a Free_kick#Gridiron_football, free kick from the spot of the catch. The kick must be eith ...

. On November 23, 2008, the Cardinals were playing the New York Giants when the Cardinals called for a fair catch with five seconds to go in the first half. As per the free-kick rule, Rackers was allowed to kick from the spot for a field goal attempt, which was at the 42-yard line of Arizona, 68 yards away. With only the punter holding the ball and no opponent lined up within ten yards of the ball, he missed the kick by a wide margin. In the 2008 season, Rackers made an appearance in

Super Bowl XLIII Super Bowl XLIII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champions Pittsburgh Steelers and the National Football Conference (NFC) champions Arizona Cardinals to decide the National Football League (NFL) champ ...

, during which he kicked three extra points for the Cardinals. He is the longest tenured kicker in Cardinals history, having played in seven seasons for the team.

Houston Texans

Rackers was signed by the

on April 5, 2010, replaced

Kris Brown Kristopher Clayton Brown (born December 23, 1976) is an American former professional football placekicker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for twelve seasons in the late 1990s and 2000s. He played college football for the Nebr ...

later for the 2010 season, and made his first two field goals as a member of the Texans on September 12.

Washington Redskins

Rackers signed a one-year contract with 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 ...

on April 24, 2012, and competed with

Graham Gano Graham Clark Gano (; born April 9, 1987) is a Scottish–American professional football placekicker for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Florida State Seminoles and was signed by the B ...

for a spot on the team. On August 27, the Redskins released Rackers.

Retirement

Billy Cundiff William Ambrose Cundiff (born March 30, 1980) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a placekicker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for Drake University, and was signed by ...

's charity confirmed that Rackers retired and would join his cause to cure ovarian cancer.

Career regular season statistics

''Career high/best bolded''

Life away from football

Rackers is the special teams coach at De Smet Jesuit in the

area. He also sells roofs and does business as owner of an assisted living facility. He also owns Kick it Promos and is a radio announcer on 101 ESPN in St. Louis. He was inducted into the

Missouri Sports Hall of Fame The Missouri Sports Hall of Fame is located in Springfield, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1994 by Springfield businessman John Q. Hammons, the Hall of Fame is housed in a two-story, 32,000-square-foot building. On display are more than 4,0 ...

References

External links

Neil Rackers on ESPN.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rackers, Neil 1976 births Living people Players of American football from Missouri American football placekickers Illinois Fighting Illini football players National Conference Pro Bowl players Cincinnati Bengals players Arizona Cardinals players Houston Texans players 21st-century American sportsmen Washington Redskins players