Sean Edward Landeta (born January 6, 1962) 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 punter in both the

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

(USFL) and 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). Landeta played 22 seasons in the NFL for five different teams between 1985 and 2006. He was named to the

NFL 1980s All-Decade Team The NFL 1980s All-Decade Team was chosen by voters of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The team was composed of outstanding performers in the National Football League in the 1980s. The squad consists of first- and second-team offensive, defensive and ...

as the first punter and the 1990s All-Decade Team as the second punter, as chosen by the

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

Selection Committee members. He is one of 29 individuals out of 25,000 players in NFL history to be selected to multiple All-Decade teams.

Early life

Landeta grew up in Baltimore,

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

. Landeta originally began kicking as a nine-year-old. At Loch Raven High School in Towson, Maryland, Landeta was an All-City and All-Metro punter in his only season (1978). Landeta kicked a 41-yard field goal on his first attempt in his first game. His longest punt was 76 yards, which still stands as a school record. He first began playing organized football as a high school senior.

College career

Before his pro career, 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 ...

Towson University Towson University (TU or Towson) is a public university in Towson, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1866 as Maryland's first training school for teachers, Towson University is a part of the University System of Maryland. Since its foundin ...

in 1979, 1980, 1981 and 1982. He started as a freshman for Towson at the age of 17. He led the nation in punting (NCAA Division II) in 1980 and was named First-Team All American in 1982 (NCAA Division II). Landeta booted a school record 72-yard punt in 1981 and hit the school record 57-yard field goal in 1980. He became the only player in NCAA history to lead the nation in punting and field goals in the same season (1980).

Professional career

He played almost half of his career for the

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 ...

, where he won two championship rings in

Super Bowl XXI Super Bowl XXI was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion New York Giants to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for ...

and

Super Bowl XXV Super Bowl XXV was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Buffalo Bills and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion New York Giants to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the ...

. He also played for the Rams, Buccaneers, Packers and Eagles. Landeta led the NFL in punts with 107 in 1999, led the NFL in gross punting in 1994 with a 44.8 average, led the NFL with a 37.8 net average in 1989, and led the league with 24 punts inside the 20 in 1990. Landeta was the last active NFL player who played in the

in the 1980s, punting for the

Philadelphia/Baltimore Stars The Philadelphia / Baltimore Stars were a professional American football team which played in the United States Football League (USFL) in the mid-1980s. Owned by real-estate magnate Myles Tanenbaum, they were the short-lived league's dominant ...

in all three of the original USFL's seasons. Landeta was named as the punter to the All-USFL team in 1983 and 1984. The Stars won back-to-back USFL championships in 1984 and 1985. Upon the USFL's folding, Landeta joined the NFL's New York Giants, winning two Super Bowls in 1986 and

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

in his nine seasons with the team (he would return in 2006, in what would be his last season as an active player). He then played for the Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams from 1993 to 1996. He re-joined the Rams for the 2003 and 2004 seasons, giving him six years with the organization. After spending one season (1997) with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he moved on to play for the Green Bay Packers in 1998. In 1999, he signed as a free agent with the Philadelphia Eagles. He spent five seasons with the Eagles where he became the oldest punter in NFL history at the age of 44. Other career highlights include being the first punter in NFL history to average more than 50-yards per punt in a game in three different decades. In 1994, Landeta led the NFL in punting with a 44.8-yard average playing for the Los Angeles Rams. He also recorded the longest punt in Tampa Bay Buccaneers history, with a 74-yarder in 1997 in a game against the New York Jets. As a member of the Green Bay Packers, he set a club record for the highest net punting average and most punts inside the 20 in team history (since the AFL/NFL merger in 1970). As a member of the Eagles, Landeta set the NFL all-time record for number of punts, punting yardage and punts inside the 20 during the 2001 season. Landeta was the longest-tenured punter in NFL history and is still the oldest punter to ever appear in an NFL game. In addition, Landeta became the first punter in NFL history to earn a $1 million annual salary. Landeta was also named to ESPN's list of 50 All-Time Greatest New York Giants players. On March 6, 2008, the 25th anniversary of Landeta's first game in the USFL, he officially announced his retirement from professional football.

Post-playing career

In September 2005, Landeta was elected to the Towson University Hall of Fame. In November 2006, Landeta was elected to the NCAA Division II College Football Hall of Fame. In May 2009, Landeta was elected to the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in Philadelphia. In September 2011, Landeta was elected to the inaugural Loch Raven High School Hall of Fame Class. In November 2011, Landeta was elected to the State of Maryland Sports Hall of Fame. In 2010, Landeta became eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame and appeared on the ballot for the first time. In 2024 Landeta was named to the NY GIANTS 100th Anniversary Team. After his retirement from the NFL, Landeta has worked with the Eagles and Giants organizations as an alumnus of both teams. He has worked in the media for CBS Radio, FOX Television, ComCast Network and Westwood One. In addition, Landeta has spoken and appeared on numerous radio and television shows around the country. Landeta has also been involved with many charities throughout his NFL career.

NFL career statistics

;Regular season , - !

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

!! NYG , 16 , , 81 , , 3,472 , , 42.9 , , 36.4 , , 20 , , 14 , - ! 1986 !! style="background:#afe6ba;, NYG , 16 , , 79 , , 3,539 , , 44.8 , , 37.1 , , 24 , , 11 , - !

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

!! NYG , 12 , , 65 , , 2,773 , , 42.7 , , 31.0 , , 12 , , 6 , - ! 1988 !! NYG , 1 , , 6 , , 222 , , 37.0 , , 35.8 , , 1 , , 0 , - !

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

!! NYG , 16 , , 70 , , 3,019 , , 43.1 , , 37.8 , , 19 , , 7 , - !

!! style="background:#afe6ba;, NYG , 16 , , 75 , , 3,306 , , 44.1 , , 37.3 , , 24 , , 11 , - !

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

!! NYG , 15 , , 64 , , 2,768 , , 43.3 , , 35.3 , , 16 , , 8 , - !

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

!! NYG , 11 , , 53 , , 2,317 , , 43.7 , , 31.5 , , 18 , , 10 , - ! rowspan="2" ,

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

!! NYG , 8 , , 33 , , 1,390 , , 42.1 , , 35.0 , , 11 , , 3 , - ! LARams , 8 , , 42 , , 1,825 , , 43.5 , , 32.9 , , 7 , , 7 , - !

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

!! LARams , 16 , , 78 , , 3,494 , , style="background:#cfecec;, 44.8 , , 34.3 , , 23 , , 9 , - !

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

!! STL , 16 , , 83 , , 3,679 , , 44.3 , , 36.7 , , 23 , , 12 , - !

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

!! STL , 16 , , 78 , , 3,491 , , 44.8 , , 36.1 , , 23 , , 9 , - !

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

!! TB , 10 , , 54 , , 2,274 , , 42.1 , , 34.1 , , 15 , , 6 , - !

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

!! GB , 16 , , 65 , , 2,788 , , 42.9 , , 37.1 , , 30 , , 7 , - !

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

PHI Phi ( ; uppercase Φ, lowercase φ or ϕ; ''pheî'' ; Modern Greek: ''fi'' ) is the twenty-first letter of the Greek alphabet. In Archaic and Classical Greek (c. 9th to 4th century BC), it represented an aspirated voiceless bilabial plos ...

, 16 , , style="background:#cfecec;, 107 , , 4,524 , , 42.3 , , 35.1 , , 21 , , 12 , - !

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

, 16 , , 86 , , 3,635 , , 42.3 , , 36.0 , , 23 , , 8 , - !

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

, 16 , , 97 , , 4,221 , , 43.5 , , 36.4 , , 26 , , 10 , - !

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

, 12 , , 52 , , 2,229 , , 42.9 , , 34.6 , , 19 , , 7 , - !

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

!! STL , 16 , , 59 , , 2,525 , , 42.8 , , 32.9 , , 14 , , 5 , - !

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

!! STL , 10 , , 40 , , 1,733 , , 43.3 , , 32.5 , , 9 , , 3 , - !

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

, 5 , , 34 , , 1,483 , , 43.6 , , 38.2 , , 7 , , 2 , - , - class="sortbottom" style="background:#eee;" ! style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career ! 284 , , 1,401 , , 60,707 , , 43.3 , , 35.3 , , 380 , , 166

References