Harrison Butker (born July 14, 1995) is an American professional football placekicker for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, and was selected by the Carolina Panthers in the seventh round of the 2017 NFL draft. With an 88.4% career field goal percentage, Butker is the fourth most accurate kicker in NFL history. He led the NFL in scoring in 2019, and has won three Super Bowls with the Chiefs.
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Early life
Butker was born on July 14, 1995, to Harrison Butker Sr. and Elizabeth Keller Butker, and was raised in Decatur, Georgia. He has an older sister. Butker's maternal grandfather, James W. Keller, held faculty positions in oncology at Emory University for 28 years. His mother, Elizabeth Keller Butker, has been a clinical medical physicist at Emory since 1988.
Butker went to The Westminster Schools, where he played on the football team after picking up the sport as a sophomore. Butker broke the school record (at the time) for a field goal of 53 yards. He was a three-sport athlete in basketball, football, and soccer, winning three state championships in soccer. Butker was also a tuba player for the school's symphonic band.
College career
Before pursuing football, Butker played soccer at Georgia Tech.
Butker played at Georgia Tech from 2013 through 2016 under head coach Paul Johnson. Butker is the all-time leading scorer in school history and was a captain of the team for his senior season. In his collegiate career, Butker converted 208-of-210 extra point attempts and 43-of-60 field goal attempts. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering.
Professional career
Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers selected Butker in the seventh round (233rd overall) in the 2017 NFL draft. On May 5, 2017, he signed a four-year, $2.48 million contract that included a signing bonus of $83,112. Butker was waived on September 13, and was signed to the practice squad the next day.
Kansas City Chiefs
On September 26, 2017, Butker was signed by the Kansas City Chiefs off the Panthers' practice squad.
Butker made his debut during a Week 4 29–20 victory over the Washington Redskins on Monday Night Football. Butker missed his first career field goal attempt of 46 yards, but made his next three attempts, including the game-winner. In the next game against the Houston Texans, Butker made all five of his field goal attempts during the 42–34 road victory. Three weeks later against the Denver Broncos, he converted five field goals in the 29–19 victory, earning AFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors. For the month of October, he was named AFC Special Teams Player of the Month. During a Week 16 29–13 victory over the Miami Dolphins, Butker converted five field goals, earning him his second AFC Special Teams Player of the Week award.
Butker finished his rookie season converting 28 extra point attempts and 38-of-42 field goal attempts. Butker was named as an alternate to the 2018 Pro Bowl. He finished the season tied for fourth in scoring with Chris Boswell with 142 points.
During a Week 2 42–37 road victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, Butker converted a career-high six extra points.
He finished his second professional season converting 65 of 69 extra point attempts and 24-of-27 field goal attempts.
On April 15, 2019, Butker signed his exclusive rights free agent tender with the Chiefs. The tender gave Butker a one-year contract worth $645,000. On June 13, he signed a five-year extension worth $20.3 million.
During a Week 9 26–23 victory over the Minnesota Vikings, Butker made four field goals, including a 44-yard game-winner, earning him AFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors. Butker was named the AFC Special Teams Player of the Month for November. He led the NFL in regular season field goals with 34 made field goals and finished the regular season with 45-of-48 extra points converted and 34-of-38 field goals converted.
NFL career statistics
Career highlights
Awards and honors
3× Super Bowl champion (LIV, LVII, LVIII)
NFL scoring leader (2019)
PFWA All-Rookie Team (2017)
Records
Most field goals made by a rookie: 38
Longest field goal in the Super Bowl: 57 yards (2024)
Career field goals in the Super Bowl: 9
Field goals made, season: 38 (2017)
Points by a rookie: 142
Points by a kicker, season: 142 (2017)
Longest field goal: 62 yards (2022)
Career field goal percentage (minimum 50 attempts): 89.1%
Personal life
Butker is married with three children. He is the co-founder, president, and chief operating officer of MDKeller. One of the companies that Butker co-founded as a subsidiary of MDKeller is Shepherd's, which specializes in custom menswear.
Views
Butker is a devout Traditionalist Catholic. Butker has publicly spoken out against Traditionis custodes, saying that he felt that he and other traditionalist Catholics were "persecuted" in the Church.
In May 2024, Butker gave a commencement address at Benedictine College. The speech was met by applause and a standing ovation from the audience. Among other topics, he criticized a provision of a bill condemning antisemitism as overly broad. Butker said, "We fear speaking truth, because now, unfortunately, truth is in the minority. Congress just passed a bill where stating something as basic as the biblical teaching of who killed Jesus could land you in jail." Dave Zirin of The Nation condemned Butker's comments as antisemitic. Yvette Walker of the Kansas City Star also criticized Butker's speech.
Butker was the commencement speaker at his alma mater, Georgia Tech, in 2023. Butker received widespread attention for his exhortation to "get married and start a family." During Butker's 2024 address at Benedictine College, he said:
I think it is you, the women, who have had the most diabolical lies told to you. How many of you are sitting here now about to cross this stage and are thinking about all the promotions and titles you are going to get in your career? Some of you may go on to lead successful careers in the world, but I would venture to guess that the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world...I'm on the stage today and able to be the man I am because I have a wife who leans into her vocation...and embrace one of the most important titles of all: homemaker. I can tell you that my beautiful wife Isabelle would be the first to say that her life truly started when she started living her vocation as a wife and as a mother.
Several articles highlighted that Butker's mother, Elizabeth Keller Butker, has been a clinical medical physicist at Emory University and holds two university degrees. His speech, which included other personal and political opinions, was met with controversy. On May 15, 2024, in response to Butker's comments and the ensuant backlash, NFL senior vice president and chief diversity and inclusion officer Jonathan Beane told People in a written statement: "His views are not those of the NFL as an organization. The NFL is steadfast in our commitment to inclusion, which only makes our league stronger." Outsports wrote, "One of the worst parts of this NFL player's awful speech is that he quoted a Taylor Swift song before telling women they should be homemakers and serve their man's career." On his New Heights podcast, Travis Kelce said that he did not agree with "just about any" of Butker's views but did "cherish" him as a teammate.