Dallas Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey (17) celebrates with teammates including defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa (center) and offensive tackle Tyler Guyton (60) after kicking a game-winning 42-yard field goal as time expired on an NFL football game against the Philadelphia Eagles at AT&T Stadium on Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025, in Arlington.
Smiley N. Pool/Staff Photographer
Kicking a football has come a long ways since the ’70s, when the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Kicker of the Decade, Garo Yepremian, was mostly famous for throwing an interception in a Super Bowl and allegedly proclaiming, “I keek a touchdown!”
Back in the day, Garo’s accuracy rating of 67.1% ranked him near the top of the league. Now it’s 126th all time. George Blanda, the Hall of Famer, is 171st. Even Lou “the Toe” Groza is just 164th.
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Tom Dempsey, the Bob Beamon of kickers, the man who, with half a foot, launched an NFL record that stood 43 years? Only 144th on the pecking list.
The point of all this history, friends, is to note that we live in a golden age of kickers, which just got a lot more golden for Brandon Aubrey.
The Cowboys now employ the NFL’s highest-paid kicker, highest-paid player (Dak Prescott) and fourth-highest paid receiver (CeeDee Lamb). If you want to expand the category to include guarantees, they’ve got a half-dozen players, including a deep snapper, who rank among the top four at their positions.
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Who says Jerry Jones is cheap?
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I mean, besides Micah Parsons?
Complain all you want about Dak’s average annual salary of $60 million, and you’ll get no guff here. But Aubrey has earned every penny of his $7 million average over the life of the extension.
Especially if the league ever decides to take action against the onslaught of its kicking records and does something silly. Like narrowing the goalposts.
Of the most accurate kickers ever, Aubrey ranks fifth, at 88.2%, just 0.2 behind Harrison Butker, one of the men he passed for top dollar. And that was after what constitutes an off-year from Aubrey, when he made just 85.7% of his kicks.
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If only 85.7% of my columns were good.
Aubrey’s consistency has made him the most dependable Cowboy since John Wayne. What’s surprising is no longer what he makes, a list of feats that includes three boots of at least 60 yards last year, an NFL record.
The shock is when he misses.
Of course, as noted, there are lots of kickers who, by the numbers, are as accurate or better than Aubrey. Of the top 20 all-time, 17 have played this decade. The primary reason for the bonanza, special teams coaches say, is the increase in specialized coaching. Last year’s adoption of “K-balls” – footballs broken in ahead of time – has also helped.
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Vic Fangio, the Eagles defensive coordinator and a man seemingly with an opinion on just about everything, has likened K-balls to MLB’s steroids era. He told reporters last year that he wouldn’t be surprised to see a 70-yard field goal as a result, and he expects Aubrey to be the one to do it.
Mike McCarthy tried to give Aubrey the shot. He first considered it in the 2024 season opener against the Browns. With nine seconds left in the half and the ball at his own 40, he asked his special teams coach, John Fassel, where they had to get to give Aubrey a chance.
“Just across the 50,” Fassel said.
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What he was saying, in effect, was that any time the Cowboys took possession after an average kick return, they needed to advance the ball only 20 yards to enter Aubrey’s range.
If McCarthy had asked me, I’d have told him Aubrey’s good from anywhere outside the locker room.
McCarthy ultimately decided not to go for the record then, but he opted in on a 70-yarder that December in Charlotte. After Aubrey’s attempt pulled left and short, the Cowboys blamed the wind, not their kicker. They remained persuaded that, under the right conditions, he was good for at least 70.
Brian Schottenheimer gave him a shot at tying the record of 68 set by Cam Little last season. He missed that one, too, but Monday’s extension tells you they haven’t lost any faith in him.
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Consider it a sound investment in their future, especially if the league ever decides that kickers have become too automatic and narrow the 18-foot, 6-inch gap between the goalposts as a result. At least one kicking coach has suggested the distance will eventually shrink to 14 feet.
Now, I’m not aware of any spray chart that would indicate the path of Aubrey’s kicks, but I’m guessing no one’s a better ball striker. Like an Iron Byron. More often than not, his flawless mechanics mean footballs flying further and straighter than just about anyone’s.
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They can shrink the gap so much you couldn’t drive a MINI Cooper through it, and he’d still be piling up points.
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Pro Football Focus gave him a grade of 94.0 last year, meaning no Cowboy does his job better. Only Quinnen Williams (88.8), Dak (86.9), George Pickens (85.9) and Ryan Flournoy (80.3) finished in the 80s.
Aubrey’s so good, no one even cares that Jerry just made him the league’s highest–paid kicker. Cowboys fans would be mad if he hadn’t. Anyone who can make Jerry look smart probably deserves double.