Jake Bates, a kicker with the Michigan Panthers in the United Football League (UFL), may have just won himself another chance in the NFL after only two games.
Bates, 24, scored a 64-yard field goal in the first week of the UFL season, a new minor league formed this year after the XFL and United States Football League (USFL) amalgamated, to help the Panthers defeat the St. Louis Battlehawks.
On Sunday of the second week, Batesconverted a 62-yard effort against the Birmingham Stallions. His kick in the first week not only set an early UFL record, but also broke marks in the XFL and USFL’s parent leagues.
Bates was just two yards shy of matching Justin Tucker’s NFL record of 66 yards, which was set in September 2021 when the Baltimore Ravens defeated the Detroit Lions 19-17. His superb kicking has piqued the interest of NFL organizations.
According to the Detroit News, the Lions are one of several NFL teams who have contacted the UFL to inquire about Bates following his strong start to the season. Bates first joined the Houston Texans in 2023, but was let go after only two weeks.
Interestingly, Bates’ record-breaking kick in the first week marked his first competitive effort since high school. He didn’t kick once in college, focusing on soccer before returning to football. He spent two seasons at Central Arkansas, in 2018 and 2019.
He subsequently transferred to Texas State in 2020 to join the football team, but was solely assigned kickoff duties. In an effort to broaden his job, he moved to Arkansas in 2022, but discovered himself
However, he has subsequently demonstrated to both college and NFL organizations that he was undervalued, emerging as yet another exceptional kicker who switched from soccer. The Texans saw his skills firsthand, but after signing him on July 31, they released him on August 12.
NFL teams are increasingly looking to ex-soccer players when scouting kickers, a technique that paid off for the Dallas Cowboys when they signed former MLS SuperDraft pick Brandon Aubrey. After his soccer career didn’t go as planned, he began practicing with Mississippi State kicker and kicking coach Brian Egan three times a week.
