Ben Graham ( football player ) Ben Graham ( born 2 November 1973 ) is a former professional Australian rules football er turned professional American football punter for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League . The left - footer played for the New York Jets , New Orleans Saints , and Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League in the United States . Graham ' s 219 game Australian Rules career was played exclusively at the Geelong Football Club in the Australian Football League between 1993 and 2004 . As an Aussie Rules player , Graham was long noted for his ability to kick extraordinarily long distances with accuracy ( in particular his expertise at the torpedo punt ) . This is one of the key reasons that he was believed to have potential as a professional NFL punter . He is the only player to be named a captain of both an AFL and NFL side . During his career he has played in the biggest game in two codes , the AFL Grand Final ( 1995 AFL Grand Final ) and the Super Bowl ( Super Bowl XLIII ) . He was the first Australian to have played in a Super Bowl . Early life . Ben Graham was born in Geelong to mother , Helen , and father , Tony . Ben Graham grew up in Leopold , Victoria , and began playing Aussie Rules at a young age for the local Leopold Football Club in the Bellarine Football League where his father was former premiership player and coach . Ben ' s football ability was obvious from an early age , and he was selected by the Geelong U19s ( now Geelong Falcons ) where he was first identified by AFL talent scouts . Australian rules football career . Graham was recruited by Geelong at pick 40 in the 1992 Australian Football League ( AFL ) pre - season draft . He was Geelong ' s " Best First Year Player " in the reserves team of 1992 , and made his debut with the Geelong seniors late in 1993 . Graham was noted for his long kicking ( in particular his expertise at the torpedo punt ) , and could play at both ends of the ground as a key position player . He played at centre half - forward and could convert goals from distances of 60 metres , as well as playing at centre half - back , where his booming kicks cleared the ball from defence , particularly during kickout s . Once , when Graham was bringing the ball back in from play , he booted the ball 85 metres which was right to the centre of the ground . Graham played in Geelong ' s 1995 AFL Grand Final loss to Carlton . For the year , he was named most improved player at Geelong . Graham won the club ' s Best and Fairest award ( the Carji Greeves Medal ) in 1999 . He following his 1999 season with another solid season in 2000 , finishing runner up in the best & fairest in a year in which he was also bestowed the honour of the club captaincy . In 2001 he was inducted into the Geelong Football Club Hall of Fame and granted life membership . Graham retained the club captaincy until the end of 2002 . Honours . Individual : American football career . Graham was first approached by the New York Jets to try out as a punter in 1997 , however he decided to stay in the AFL . In 2004 he surprised many in Australia when he quit Australian rules football and left for the United States to pursue a career as a punter in the National Football League , where he would ultimately be paid many times more than he would have earned in Australia and extended his playing career by many years . New York Jets . Graham was signed to a short - term contract by the New York Jets in January 2005 . Graham moved to New York City and attended Jets training camp at Hofstra University , before being confirmed as the team ' s starting punter for the 2005 NFL season when his predecessor Micah Knorr was released . When Graham played his first NFL regular season game , ( against the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium on 11 September 2005 ) he became the second person after Darren Bennett to play in both the AFL and the NFL , ( Colin Ridgeway played at AFL reserves level for Carlton ) , and fourth Australian NFL player . He also became the oldest rookie ever to be part of an NFL opening day roster at age 31 . On 22 May 2006 , the Jets signed Graham to a six - year contract worth US $ 5 . 17 million . In late 2006 , Graham made history becoming the first Australian to captain an American pro - sports team when he joined the leadership group of the New York Jets . He also became the only player to captain a team in two different professional sports leagues . Graham also used the Australian drop punt — a style of kicking prevalent in Australian rules football first introduced in 1997 to the NFL by fellow Australian Darren Bennett — which improves kicking efficiency and is said to be a new introduction to the game of American football . The Jets waived Graham on 16 September 2008 , but he did not miss a game : they quickly re - signed him on 22 September due to a minor injury to his replacement Reggie Hodges . Graham was released again on 29 September after Hodges recovered . New Orleans Saints . On 20 October 2008 , Graham signed with the New Orleans Saints to play a game in London . The team had released incumbent punter Steve Weatherford earlier in the week due to travel arrangement issues . He played just the one game , punting three times with an average of 42 yards , before being released on 29 October . He was replaced by Glenn Pakulak . Arizona Cardinals . Graham was signed by the Arizona Cardinals on 1 December 2008 after the team released punter , Dirk Johnson ; this was the second time that Johnson had been replaced by an Australian punter . In the NFC Championship game that year , Graham ' s Cardinals played the Philadelphia Eagles , whose punter , Saverio Rocca , also was an ex - Aussie Rules player from North Melbourne . This guaranteed that one of the two would be the first Australian to play in a Super Bowl . The Cardinals ' victory presented that honour to Graham . The Cardinals released Graham on 2 September 2011 , before the start of the season . But they re - signed him on 5 October ; he was released again on 11 October , after one game covering for the injured Dave Zastudil . Detroit Lions . On 15 November 2011 , Graham signed with the Detroit Lions , replacing Robert Malone . Malone had played only one game after replacing the injured Ryan Donahue . During the 2012 preseason , Graham beat out Donahue for the starting job . On September 25 , 2012 , Graham was placed on the season - ending injured reserve list . Nick Harris was signed to replace Graham for the remainder of the season . He was released with an injury settlement later that season . International career . In 2011 with the NFL Lockout looming , Graham announced his intention to play for the Australian National team in the 2011 IFAF World Cup , the official international American Football championship tournament . Later , he officially was added to the roster as the country ' s starting punter . Personal life and family . Graham and his wife , Katie , have two daughters , Sophie and Rosie , and one son , Jack . While playing for the Cats , Graham attended Deakin University in Geelong . Ben ' s father , and his younger brother , Sam , attended Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa , FL , to watch him when he played for the Arizona Cardinals . Graham ' s mother , Helen , died from cancer on 21 April 2009 .