Robbie Gould Robert Paul " Robbie " Gould III ( ; born December 30 , 1981 ) is an American football placekicker for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League ( NFL ) . He was originally signed by the New England Patriots as an undrafted free agent in 2005 . He played college football at Penn State . He is currently the fourth most accurate kicker in NFL history . Early years . Gould was born to Cheryl and Robert Gould in Jersey Shore , Pennsylvania . His father was a three - time All - America n soccer player who led Lock Haven University to a Division III national championship in 1977 . and was drafted by the St . Louis Steamers in the early 80s . His brother , Christopher , was formerly a kicker and punter for the University of Virginia . ( Chris now plays for the Arizona Rattlers of the Arena Football League . ) He attended Central Mountain High School in Mill Hall , Pennsylvania , where he won letters in football , soccer , basketball and track . During the 2000 Boys ' Soccer District Championship , he scored the game - winning goal with seconds left . Although originally interested in professional soccer , he eventually chose football and asked his high school principal to send a letter of recommendation to Penn State head football coach Joe Paterno , who invited him to try out as a freshman walk - on . Professional career . After going undrafted in the 2005 NFL Draft , the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots signed Gould prior to the 2005 NFL preseason even though they already had established Super Bowl winning kicker Adam Vinatieri . Following his not unexpected preseason release from the Pats , Gould signed with the Baltimore Ravens only to be waived three weeks later . He then took a sabbatical from football , working construction for M & R Contracting in Mill Hall , Pennsylvania . The Bears signed him on October 8 , 2005 , following the Week 3 injury of their starting kicker , Doug Brien . Gould kicked his first NFL field goal the next week in a 20 – 10 loss at Cleveland , and his first game - winner in Week 9 against the New Orleans Saints , finishing the 2005 season with a 77 % field goal percentage and hitting all but one of his 20 PAT attempts . He kicked 26 consecutive field goals during the 2006 NFL season , breaking former Bears ’ kicker Kevin Butler ’ s record of most consecutive field goals and winning NFL Special Teams Player of the Month for October 2006 in the process . In addition , NFL fans across the nation voted Gould the NFC ’ s kicker for the 2007 Pro Bowl . He was also named to the 2006 All - Pro team by the Associated Press . His 25 - yard overtime field goal against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers gave the Bears home field advantage throughout the ensuing playoffs . On January 14 , 2007 , his 49 - yard field goal in overtime against the Seattle Seahawks gave the Bears their first divisional playoff win since 1988 , advancing them to the NFC Championship game , which they won but then lost Super Bowl XLI to Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts . 29 – 17 . The following season , Gould was named NFC special teams player of the month for December 2008 after making all eight of his field goal attempts including two more overtime game - winners , becoming the fourth kicker of overtime game - winning field goals in back - to - back games in NFL history . He converted 26 of 29 field goal attempts ( 89 . 7 percent ) in 2008 , breaking his own franchise single - season record for accuracy . Going into the 2009 season , he had converted 84 . 8 of his career field goal attempts . He has missed only one extra point attempt in his NFL career . On May 12 , 2008 , he signed an extension with the Bears that would keep him on the team through the 2013 season . The contract , reportedly worth $ 15 . 5 million , included a $ 4 . 25 million signing bonus and made Gould the NFL ' s highest - paid kicker . On December 11 , 2011 , he kicked a career - long , and Chicago Bears franchise record , 57 - yard field goal against the Denver Broncos ( although the Bears lost 13 - 10 in overtime ) . He kicked another 57 - yarder in the second game of the 2012 preseason against the Washington Redskins , giving Chicago a 33 - 31 win , which of course didn ' t count officially since it came in an exhibition game . ( His previous best was 53 yards against the Carolina Panthers during the 2010 NFL regular season . ) Gould made his tenth career game - winning field goal against the Panthers in Week 8 of 2012 , and his ten consecutive field goals from 50 yards or more without a miss is currently second behind Tony Zendejas . Before pregame warmups in Week 14 of 2012 against the Minnesota Vikings , Gould strained his left calf . After limited play during the game , Gould was placed on injured reserve for the remainder of the 2012 season . Personal life . Despite the misleading spelling of his surname , " Gould " is pronounced " gōld " , just like gold , prompting many announcers to dub him " Robbie Gould is gold " , " Solid Gould " or " Good as Gould " after successful field goals . His good friend and teammate Patrick Mannelly facilitates every field goal and extra point he kicks as the Bears ' long snapper . His younger brother , Chris Gould , is a kicker in the Arena Football League , formerly for the Chicago Rush and presently ( as cited above ) for the Arizona Rattlers . His cousin Brandon Thomas Gould was an offensive lineman for Bethune - Cookman University before his graduation in 2010 .