Robbie Gould retires: Longtime Bears, 49ers kicker finishes 18-year NFL career 10th all time in scoring

Robbie Gould, the most accurate postseason kicker of the 21st century, is calling it a career after 18 seasons a day after turning 41. Gould played 18 NFL seasons with the Chicago Bears (2005-2015), the New York Giants (2016) and the San Francisco 49ers (2017-2022). In 16 playoff games, he drained all 29 of his field goals and all 39 of his extra points. 

He searched for a 2023 NFL home, but unlike peer Mason Crosby, who signed with the Los Angeles Rams on Wednesday, Gould ultimately decided to go home for good. 

“Now, although football has been a really great part of my life for the past 18 years, it is with the utmost regard and appreciation that I officially announce my retirement from the National Football League,” Gould wrote on ThePlayersTribune.com on Thursday.

Gould made the most field goals in the NFL, 447, during his 18-year career while maintaining a top-five field goal percentage (86.5%). He’s currently 10th all time in scoring with 1,961 points.

Robbie Gould regular-season career production
NFL ranks during career (2005-2022)

* Among 52 kickers with 150+ field goal attempts from 2005-2022

Like most players who walk away from the NFL, what Gould will miss most are the little, fun moments being a professional football player provides.

“Will I miss it? Absolutely,” Gould wrote. “The fire to play and to compete definitely still burns, and I’m not sure that will ever go away. As I look back over the entirety of my career, it’s kind of ironic because the thing I’m going to miss the most isn’t really even all that much about the actual game of football. I’ll miss being a part of a football team. The plane rides, the pregame meals, the companionship, the locker room culture, the workouts, and the grind of one unit trying to accomplish a common goal of winning — that part can’t be replaced.”