Patriots legend named honorary captain ahead of AFC title game

Adam Vinatieri won three Super Bowls in 10 seasons with the Patriots.

Adam Vinatieri won three Super Bowls during his 10 years with the Patriots. Jim Davis / The Boston Globe

January 22, 2026

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The New England Patriots will have an old friend out on the field in Denver for Sunday’s AFC Championship game against the Broncos.

The Patriots announced on Thursday that former kicker Adam Vinatieri will be the team’s honorary captain for the AFC title game — with the four-time Super Bowl champion on site as the team tries to punch its ticket to Super Bowl LX.

The greatest kicker of all time is our honorary captain for the AFC Championship Game 🐐@adamvinatieri | @NFL pic.twitter.com/R1LORRNC1G
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) January 22, 2026

Vinatieri spent the first decade of his 24-year NFL career in New England, etching himself in football history for his clutch kicks in the postseason.

He left his fingerprints all over New England’s improbable run to its first Super Bowl title in 2001 — hitting both the 45-yard, game-tying field goal and eventual overtime winner at a snowy Foxboro Stadium in the famous “Tuck Rule” game against the Raiders in the AFC Divisional Round.

Just a few weeks later, Vinatieri connected on a 48-field goal as time expired to win Super Bowl XXXVI over the heavily-favored Rams.

He also made the game-winning field goal against the Carolina Panthers to help New England win a see-saw showdown in Super Bowl XXXVIII, while later doing his part to cement a dynasty by beating the Eagles the following year in Super Bowl XXXIX.

Vinatieri, who closed out his career with 14 seasons with the Colts, won another Super Bowl in 2006 with Indianapolis. He holds the NFL records for points (2,673) and made field-goals (599).