Morten Andersen Morten Andersen ( born August 19 , 1960 ) , nicknamed " The Great Dane " , is a former National Football League kicker and All American at Michigan State University . He holds the distinction of being the all - time leading scorer in NFL history , as well as being the all - time leading scorer for two different rival teams ; the New Orleans Saints , with whom he spent 13 seasons , and the Atlanta Falcons , with whom he spent a combined eight seasons . He officially retired December 8 , 2008 , after not having played all season . Early life . Andersen was born in Copenhagen and raised in the west Jutland town of Struer , Denmark . As a student , he was a gymnast and a long jump er , and just missed becoming a member of the Danish junior national soccer team . He visited the United States in 1977 as a Youth For Understanding exchange student . He first kicked an American football on a whim at Ben Davis High School in Indianapolis . He was so impressive in his one season of high school football that he was given a scholarship to Michigan State University . Andersen , with his left leg as his dominant kicking leg , starred at Michigan State , setting several records , including a Big Ten Conference record 63 - yard field goal against Ohio State University . He was named an All American in 1981 . His success landed him the kicking job with the New Orleans Saints . On September 24 , 2011 he was inducted into the Michigan State University Athletics Hall of Fame . NFL career . Andersen ' s NFL career got off to a rocky start . On his first NFL kickoff to start the strike - shortened 1982 season , Andersen twisted his ankle and missed eight weeks of the season . Despite the early setback , he soon emerged as one of the strongest and most reliable placekickers in the NFL . In his years with the Saints , he was named to six Pro Bowl s , kicked 302 field goal s , and scored 1318 points . In 1991 , against Chicago , Andersen kicked a 60 - yard field goal , tying him with Steve Cox for the second - longest field goal in league history at the time , behind the 63 - yard record - holder kicked by Tom Dempsey . ( Andersen ' s kick has since been matched by Rob Bironas , Dan Carpenter and Greg Zuerlein , and surpassed by Sebastian Janikowski ( twice ) , Jason Elam , Jay Feely , Matt Bryant and David Akers . ) Andersen ' s proficiency with field goal kicking earned him the nickname " Mr . Automatic . " Following the 1994 season , he was released by the Saints for salary cap purposes and because his accuracy had started to decline . Following his release by the Saints , Andersen signed with the Atlanta Falcons . He silenced those who felt him to be washed up and was once again named a Pro Bowler during his time in Atlanta . In December 1995 against the Saints , he became the first player in NFL history to kick three field goals of over 50 yards in a single game . In Week 17 of the 1996 season , Andersen missed a 30 - yard field goal that enabled the Jacksonville Jaguars to make the playoffs . Two years later , he kicked a game - winning field goal in overtime in the 1998 NFC Championship Game to beat the Minnesota Vikings and send the Falcons to its first - ever Super Bowl appearance . There are a number of interesting coincidences between Andersen and former NFL placekicker Gary Anderson . Anderson and Andersen have nearly identical last names , were born within a year of one another outside the United States ( Anderson was born in South Africa ) , came to the United States as teenagers , had long and successful NFL careers throughout the 1980s and 1990s , and hold first or second place in a number of NFL records for scoring , field goals , and longevity . Their overall accuracy is also nearly identical ; their career percentage being within . 5 % of each other on both FGs and PATs . Also , Anderson missed a field goal in the 1998 NFC Championship Game for the Minnesota Vikings before Andersen kicked his winning kick , both from the same distance as well . Andersen went on to play with the New York Giants for the 2001 season , followed by the Kansas City Chiefs the following two seasons . In the 2004 offseason , Andersen was beaten out for the kicking job by rookie Lawrence Tynes . He was released by the Chiefs for the final roster cut , and was subsequently signed by the Vikings . Although his leg strength had declined greatly with age , he continued to prove himself accurate for field goals . Having not been signed by a team following the 2004 season , he became a free agent and did not play in 2005 . He announced NFL Europe games in the 2005 season . In January 2006 , Andersen was inducted as the first member of the Danish American Football Federation Hall of Fame . Later that year , Andersen returned to the NFL , re - signing with the Atlanta Falcons ; Andersen was brought in to help Michael Koenen , who was at the time performing double duty as punter and kicker ( an extremely rare occurrence in the NFL ) missing several field goals in that capacity , and Koenen reverted to strictly punting after Andersen ' s signing . His first game back was against his former team , the Saints , on Monday Night Football . The game was the first game in the Louisiana Superdome since Hurricane Katrina prevented its use for the entire 2005 regular season . Andersen scored the only Falcon points with a 26 - yard field goal in the first quarter . In his second game back , Andersen made 5 of 5 field goals ( matching his career best for the ninth time ) , as well as both extra point attempts . He was named NFC special teams player of the week , becoming the oldest player to earn the honor since the award was first introduced in 1984 . He is also the team record holder for both the New Orleans Saints and the Atlanta Falcons for overall points scored . On December 16 , 2006 , Andersen passed Gary Anderson to become the all - time leading scorer in NFL history . The following weekend , December 24 , 2006 Andersen again passed Anderson to become the NFL ' s career leader in field goals made . On September 17 , 2007 , he again signed with the Falcons in an attempt to secure their unreliable kicking game . By the end of the regular season he had made 25 of 28 field goals ( 89 . 3 % ) , the most accurate season of his career . In the 2008 season , Morten Andersen did not get a contract with any team , but waited until December 8 to officially retire . If Morten Andersen had played on or after December 6 , he would have been the oldest NFL player to play , breaking George Blanda ' s record . On November 6 , 2009 , Morten Andersen was inducted into the New Orleans Saints Hall of Fame . NFL records . At the end of his career Andersen held the following NFL records ( As of 2009 ) : Team Scoring Records : ( Only player to hold career statistical franchise record for two NFL teams ) Pro Bowl records : Andersen holds 2nd place in the following NFL records : Andersen had stated that his goal was to be the first NFL player to play until he turns 50 in 2010 . However he retired December 8 , 2008 – just two days after he would have become the oldest person ever to play in an NFL game , if he had gotten a contract . The record held by George Blanda still stands – Blanda played in his last NFL game on January 4 , 1976 ( the ) at the age of .