Best punting average in NFL history in a season is 53.1 yards per kick by Ryan Stonehouse. The best punters of all time are Sean Landeta, Jerrel Wilson, and Ray Guy.
In American football, a punt is a kick performed by punters in which hands drop the ball and kick before it hits the ground. The National Football League began record-keeping for punting yards in 1939.
To be qualified for career-long rankings, a player must have at least 250 punts. The Kansas City Chiefs is the only franchise to have a player punt for more than 50,000 yards during their tenure with the team.
As of 2022, Ryan Stonehouse has the most yards per punt in a season, with 53.1.
Sam Koch is the highest-ranked punter to spend his whole career with a single team and was ranked 7th all-time in punting yards.
Hall Of Famers
Punters in the Hall of Fame include the one and only late Ray Guy. Ray is a retired American football player for the LA Raiders on the NFL.
He was born on December 22, 1949, in Swainsboro, Georgia, U.S. The player was selected for the first All-American team as a senior for the Southern Miss Golden Eagles in 1972.
The footballer was the first punter to be entered in the first round of the NFL Draft when the Oakland Raiders selected him in 1973. He achieved three Super Bowls with the Raiders as Super Bowls XI, XV, and XVIII.
In 2014 the player was elected to the Pro Football Hall Of Fame and the College Football Hall Of Fame. An eight-time All-Pro, Ray is regarded to be the greatest punter of all time.
Ray was enlisted into the Hall of Fame on August 2, 2014, and became the first punter team player to be honored. The Greater Augusta Sports Council Introduced the Ray Guy Award in 2000 to honor the nation’s best punter.
In 2005, the punter supported organizing two-day kicking camps for high school punters, placekickers, and long snappers held in the U.S., which he also attended.
Guy married Beverly Guy and had two children named Ryan and Amber. The punter suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and unfortunately passed away on November 3, 2022.
Best Punters Of All Time
Best punter in NFL history are Ray Guy, Shane Lechler, Yale Lary, Sammy Baugh, Sean Landeta, and more.
Shane Lechler
Shane is an American former football player who played as a punter in the National Football League for 18 seasons. He played college football at Texas A&M University and was selected by the Oakland Raiders in the fifth round of the 2000 Draft.
He is regarded as one of the greatest punters in National Football League history. After entering the league, he has set different National Football League and Raiders records. He has the record for the best average per punt in a career (47.3).
The footballer became the highest-paid punter in history by signing a $12 million contract in 2009.
Yale Lary
Lary is an American professional football player, businessman, and politician born on November 24, 1930, in Forth Worth, Texas. He played as a safety punter and return specialist for the Detroit Lions of the NFL for eleven seasons.
He was drafted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979 and selected for the NFL 1950s All-Decade Team.
During his retirement in 1964, he led the league in Punting three times. He was ranked second in National Football League history with his 44.3-yard punting average. He also had 50 NFL interceptions for 787 yards, putting him fifth in history. He died at the age of 86 on May 11, 2017.
Sammy Baugh
Sammy was an American professional football player and coach. He was incorporated into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963. He was the first head coach of the American Football League’s New York Titans, now the New York Jets, and trained college football.
He retired as a punter with the National Football League record for the highest punting average in a career, 45.1 yards.
Other best punters in NFL history are:
- Jerrel Wilson
- Reggie Roby
- Johnny Hekker
- Andy Lee
- Pat McAfee
- Glenn Dobbs
- Thomas Morstead
- Jeff Feagles
- Don Chandler
- Donnie Jones
- Dave Jennings
Punters In College Football
Best punter in college football are Adam Korsak, Bryce Baringer, Kyle Ostendorp, Lou Hedley, and more.
Adam Korsak
Adam is a football player from South Australia who plays as a punter for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team.
In 2021 he was listed ninth in the Power Five in yards per punt. Korsak has remained constant with his numbers.
The player was selected as the winner of the Ray Guy Award as the top punter in the nation.
Bryce Baringer
Bryce is an American football punter for the Michigan State Spartans. He started his college career at Illinois and later moved to Michigan State University.
He punted 59 times as a redshirt senior for Michigan State’s record 48.4-yard average and was selected to second-team All-Big Ten Conference.
Lou Hedley
Hedley is a former Australian football player from Mandurah, Australia. The player averaged 38.6 yards per punt and ran for 75 yards on 3 fake attempts in 2017. In 2019, Lou averaged 43.9 yards per punt in 64 punts.
He received Team All-America honors and listed second in FBS in the regular season punting. Hedley was a Ray Guy Award semi-finalist after averaging 44.7 yards per punt in 2021.
Other best punters in college football include:
- Nik Constantinou
- Tory Taylor
- Rhys Byrns
- Matt Hayball
- Lachlan Wilson
- Peter Moore
- Porter Wilson
- Oscar Chapman
- Jeremy Crawshaw
- Anthony Beck
- Kyle Ulbrich
Worst Punter Based On Stats
Worst punter in NFL are Jake Bailey and Michael Parady.
Jake Bailey
Jake is an American football punter for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League. He played college football at Standford and got the longest punt in the school’s history at 84 yards. In the fifth round, the New England Patriots selected him in the 2019 draft.
The player averaged 48.7 gross yards per punt, had a long of 71, and landed 31 punts inside the 20-yard line in the 2020 season.
Michael Palardy
Michael is an American Football punter who is a free agent of the National Football League. On March 15, 2021, he made a contract of one year with the Miami Dolphins.
He became AFC special teams player of the week in week 13 after he had six punts, with a long of 65, consisting of three landing inside the 20-yard line in a 20-9 success over the New York Giants.
Both players for the Patriots were ranked last in the punter EPA for 2022.
Punting Leaders In NFL Career
NFL Punting Leaders are Ryan Stonehouse, Tommy Townsend, AJ Cole, Logan Cook, Jake Camarda, and others.
Ryan Stonehouse
Ryan played college football at Colorado State and associated with the Titans as an undrafted free agent in 2022. He holds the highest career average yards per punt record in NCAA FBS and Mountain West Conference.
In the rookie season, he recorded an average of 53.1 yards per punt, placing a new single record. He broke the record set by Sammy Baugh, which was a 51.4 average. In 2022 Ryan punted 90 times for 4,779 yards and was also the punting yards leader.
Tommy Townsend
Tommy joined the National Football League originally as an under-drafted free agent with Kansas City in 2020. He achieved the AFC special teams player of the Month on September 2022 season. He completed the 2022 season with 53 punts for 2,672 net yards for a 50.2 average.
The player obtained Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro honors for the 2022 season. He punted twice for 98 yards and won over the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LVII.
AJ Cole
Cole was rewarded Honorable Mention All-American honors by GPR Analytics in 2017. On May 6, 2019, Cole was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Oakland Raiders after attending a rookie mini-camp with the team.
On September 9, 2019, He made his National Football League debut by punting thrice for 134 yards 44.7 average, playing against the Denver Broncos. Cole had 59 punts for 2,884 net yards for a 48.88 average in 2022.
The other punting leaders are:
- Logan Cooke
- Jake Camarda
- Jack Fox
- Corey Bojorquez
- Michael Dickson
- Johnny Hekker
- Bryan Anger
- Riley Dixon
- Cameron Johnston
- Drue Chrisman
- Sam Martin
- Ryan Wright
- Andy Lee
- Braden Mann
- Tress Way
- Jamie Gillan
- Corliss Waitman
- Blake Gillikin
- Thomas Morstead
- Trenton GIll
- Jordan Stout
- Bradley Pinion
Average Punt In Football
Average NFL punt distance in football is 45 yards.
The longest punt in National Football League history is set by Steve O’Neal on September 21, 1969, with a 98-yard punt during the American Football League game between the New York Jets and the Denver Broncos.
He punted the ball from the middle of the end zone at Ralph Wilson Stadium, currently named Highmark Stadium.
Today in 1969, the Jets’ Steve O’Neal booms a record 98-yard punt. Just stop what you’re doing, go to YouTube, and watch that sweet bastard. pic.twitter.com/gSP2b0OhcB
— Super 70s Sports (@Super70sSports) September 21, 2017
The player set the record for the longest punt in American Football League and professional football. He completed his career with 337 punts for 13,725 yards and a 40.7 yards per punt average.
The shortest punt distance was negative-7 yards by Sean Landeta. He was a good painter but became dishonorable nationally at that time. He is one of the six punters to be chosen as an All-Pro three times in National Football League history.