The 10 Longest Punts in NFL History

Braden Mann had a long wait to join this list, and the rest of the league had an even longer one.

Facing fourth-and-4 near the end of the first half against the New York Giants on November 8, 2026, the Philadelphia Eagles punter lined up just inside his own end zone at Lincoln Financial Field. His kick landed around the Giants' 25-yard line and kept rolling all the way to the 5.

It went down as an 86-yard punt, the longest in the NFL since Rodney Williams' 90-yarder in 2001 and the second-longest in Eagles history, behind only Randall Cunningham's 91-yarder. It also tied Larry Barnes (San Francisco 49ers, 1957) and Bob Waterfield (Los Angeles Rams, 1947) for 10th on the all-time list.

Mann was a sixth-round pick of the New York Jets in 2020 after winning the Ray Guy Award as college football's best punter at Texas A&M. He has been the Eagles' punter since 2023, winning a Super Bowl with the franchise, and signed a four-year extension with the team in 2026.

Bob Scarpitto (87 yards), 1968

Scarpitto saved his best punt for his old team

Bob Scarpitto was a dual-threat in the American Football League, splitting his time between flanker and punter across eight seasons with the San Diego Chargers, Denver Broncos and Boston Patriots.

After six years in Denver, which included an AFL All-Star selection in 1966, the Notre Dame product was waived by the Broncos before the 1968 season and signed with the Patriots, primarily as a punter.

Revenge came quickly. In just the third game of the season, Scarpitto boomed an 87-yard punt against his former team, an AFL record at the time, as Boston edged Denver 20-17.

It was the fourth straight year Scarpitto had produced the league's longest punt, and it came in what proved to be his final professional season.

Dave Finzer (87 yards), 1984

Finzer's career lasted two seasons, but his best kick has lasted much longer

Dave Finzer took the long road to the NFL. Undrafted out of Division III DePauw, he had spells with the Dallas Cowboys, Chicago Bears and San Diego Chargers without playing a regular-season snap.

His break came in August 1984, when the Bears acquired him from San Diego for a draft pick. Finzer played all 16 games that season, led the NFL with 26 punts inside the 20-yard line, and launched an 87-yarder against the New Orleans Saints.

The stay in Chicago was short-lived. The Bears cut him the following preseason, handing the job to Maury Buford, the same punter who had beaten him out in San Diego a year earlier. Finzer spent 1985 with the Seattle Seahawks, which proved to be his final NFL season.

Bob Waterfield (88 yards), 1948

The Hall of Fame quarterback was also one of the best punters of his era

Bob Waterfield is the second quarterback on this list, and he did a lot more than punt.

As a rookie in 1945, Waterfield led the Cleveland Rams to the NFL championship and was named the league's MVP. Over eight seasons with the Rams, he also played safety, kicked field goals and handled punting duties, averaging 42.4 yards per punt across his career.

In 1948, he produced an 88-yard punt, the longest in the NFL that season. It was the second straight year he led the league in that category, having hit an 86-yarder in 1947 that still sits tied for 10th all-time.

Waterfield's No. 7 was retired by the Rams in 1952, and he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1965.

Luke Prestridge (89 yards), 1984

Prestridge's record punt came in his final NFL season

Luke Prestridge spent five seasons as the Denver Broncos' punter before joining the New England Patriots for what turned out to be his final year in the NFL.

On October 21, 1984, Prestridge uncorked an 89-yard punt against the Miami Dolphins. It was one of the few highlights of a 44-24 defeat to a Dolphins side led by Dan Marino.

Prestridge played just nine games for New England and finished his career with 421 punts at an average of 41.9 yards. His 89-yarder remains one of three Patriots punts in the NFL's top 10, alongside Shawn McCarthy's 93-yarder and Bob Scarpitto's 87-yarder for the franchise's Boston era.

Rodney Williams (90 yards), 2001

Rodney Williams spent one year in the NFL and made franchise history with the Giants

Rodney Williams was taken by the St. Louis Rams in the seventh round of the 1999 NFL Draft. He played two seasons in NFL Europe before signing with the New York Giants in 2001.

Williams lasted just one year in the NFL but made the most of it with a 90-yard punt on September 10, 2001, against the Broncos in Denver on Monday Night Football. Standing inside his own end zone as the ball was at the Giants' 10-yard line, Williams booted a kick that landed at the Denver 20 and bounced into the end zone.

Williams' kick remains the longest punt in Giants' history, but his NFL career was over after just 15 games.

After his time with the Giants, Williams had brief stints with the Seattle Seahawks, Kansas City Chiefs, New Orleans Saints, and the Oakland Raiders but never got into a game with any of them. He officially retired in 2007.

Don Chandler (90 yards), 1965

Don Chandler's 90-yard boot remains the longest in Packers history

Don Chandler served as both the placekicker and punter for the Green Bay Packers when he made history with his 90-yard punt in 1965.

Chandler was picked by the New York Giants in the fifth round of the 1956 NFL Draft and spent the first nine years of his 12-year pro football career with them. He was traded to the Packers before the 1965 season and played the last three years of his career in Green Bay.

On October 10, 1965, Chandler booted what was then the longest punt in league history with a 90-yarder against the San Francisco 49ers. It remains the longest punt in franchise history and is tied for fourth in NFL history.

"It almost gave us two guys when we got Chandler," said former Packers teammate Boyd Dowler, per Packers.com. "He was experienced. He had been in championship games and all that kind of stuff, and he was a good guy. He knew how to win. He had been in pressure situations. He performed well under pressure."

Chandler made his only Pro Bowl in the final year of his career and never had a single punt blocked in the NFL.

Randall Cunningham (91 yards), 1989

Quarterback Randall Cunningham has the third-longest punt in NFL history with a 91-yarder

This is the spot in which the punter thunder was stolen by a quarterback.

While Randall Cunningham is known as an All-Pro quarterback who played 16 seasons in the NFL, he also did some damage as a makeshift punter. During a game against the New York Giants on December 3, 1989, the Philadelphia Eagles' quarterback made a difference with his right leg.

Cunningham, who was actually a two-time All-American punter at UNLV, averaging 45.2 yards per punt, found himself backed up on his own 3-yard line in the fourth quarter of a 17-17 game against the G-Men on a cold and windy day at Giants Stadium.

On 4th & 33, he somehow convinced coach Buddy Ryan to stay on the field and punt the ball himself.

Cunningham took the snap and booted the ball with the wind at his back. The ball touched down at the New York 35 and bounced away from returner Dave Meggett, who chased it down at the 7. It went down in the books as a 91-yard punt.

"I called out to Buddy, 'Let me kick it,'" Cunningham said in 2016, per PhiladelphiaEagles.com. "He said, 'OK, go kick it.'

"When I kicked the ball, I didn't think I hit it that well. It was like a line drive, but it was a spiral, and it got into the wind and kept going. When it hit the ground, it just kept rolling. Meggett couldn't catch up to it. It turned out to be a big play."

The Eagles' defense then forced a turnover deep in Giants territory, setting up Keith Byars' game-winning touchdown run that gave the Eagles a 24-17 win.

Shawn McCarthy (93 yards), 1991

Shawn McCarthy's wind-aided punt in Buffalo went for 93 yards

On November 3, 1991, New England Patriots punter Shawn McCarthy found himself in a tough spot. He was backed up against his own end zone on a frigid and windy day in Western New York against the Buffalo Bills. Fortunately for McCarthy, the wind was on his side.

McCarthy, a Purdue alum who was drafted in the 12th round in 1990 by the Atlanta Falcons but never appeared in a game with the team, watched his punt soar downfield, hit the turf, and then make its way to the 1-yard line as Buffalo's return man elected to let it roll instead of trying to pick it up and risk a fumble.

The punt went for 93 yards and remains the second-longest punt in NFL history.

"It was a cold, windy, snowy day in Buffalo," McCarthy, a Purdue grad, told Boiler Upload in 2019. "I had my back against the end zone. It all happened so fast. The snap felt like it went through my hands. The ball hit me in the stomach, and I got the ball out quickly.

"I hit it perfectly, and it got up in the wind. It was a lazy spiral. I began to jog downfield, and I saw the return man turn and start to run. I went, 'Wow.' I saw it hit. The return man gave up on it. And one of our guys ran by the ball and met it at the goal line to down it. I remember raising my arms.

"My special teams coach was so excited, he could barely talk. It didn’t dawn on me how far it went until the announcer said something over the PA. I said: 'Holy cow, that was 93 yards.'"

McCarthy ultimately played just two seasons in the NFL, both with the Patriots.

Steve O'Neal (98 yards), 1969

Steve O'Neal's 98-yard punt as a rookie still stands as the longest boot in NFL history

It was only the second game of Steve O'Neal's professional career, and he was already breaking records as a rookie punter for the New York Jets.

Facing the Denver Broncos on September 21, 1969, O'Neal found himself pinned deep inside his own 2-yard line. He had very little room to operate, yet he boomed a kick that landed at the Broncos' 33-yard line and bounced its way near the goal line. Denver's Bill Thompson picked up the ball, but he was tackled inside the 1, making O'Neal's punt a 98-yarder.

O'Neal's boot has been a record for more than five decades. Despite technically occurring in the AFL, it still counts in the NFL books.

"Matt Snell was my personal protector at that point in time, and in the huddle, I told Matt, 'Whatever you do, don't back up.' Well, he backed up," O'Neal said in 2020, per NewYorkJets.com. "But I think it probably helped me get into that punt because when you shorten your last stride, you can gather and really pop it. And I'm thinking that's what happened."

The Jets selected O'Neal in the 13th round of the 1969 draft. He played just five professional seasons, the first four with the Jets and one final year with the New Orleans Saints.

While his record-setting punt made a little bit of noise, O'Neal did have one regret from that game.

"They did announce before I got over to the sideline that it was a new record. I didn't think that much about it, I just wanted to stay focused on what I was doing," O'Neal said. "The biggest mistake I made was not going and getting the football, but they didn't do that sort of stuff back then.

"Nobody seemed to make a big deal out of it. Weeb Ewbank, the coach at that time, three days later, congratulated me on the punt."

All statistics courtesy of Pro Football Reference unless stated otherwise.