Jason Douglas Elam (EE-ləm; born March 8, 1970) is an American former professional football player who was a placekicker in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Denver Broncos. He was selected by Denver in the third round of the 1993 NFL draft and played 15 seasons with the Broncos and two with the Atlanta Falcons.
A three-time Pro Bowl selection, Elam won two Super Bowl rings with the Broncos and was tied with Tom Dempsey, Sebastian Janikowski, and David Akers for the longest field goal in NFL history at 63 yards. The record has since been broken.
Contents
Early life
Elam attended Brookwood High School in Snellville, Georgia where he was the placekicker and punter for the football team. As a junior, he connected on 2 of 4 field goal attempts, hit all five point after attempts and averaged 38 yards per punt. As a senior, Elam went 11-18 on field goal attempts with misses form 57, 62, 63, and 65 yards. His longest successful kick was from 52 yards which set a school record. He was perfect on 26 extra points in his career and averaged 44 yards punting. He was named first team all-county for both place kicker and punter and class AAAA all-state honorable mention as a place kicker.
Elam also lettered in swimming and track and field.
College career
In four years (1988–1992) as the placekicker for the University of Hawaii at Mānoa football team, Elam scored the third-most points in NCAA history (397) and tied for the second-most field goals kicked (79). He held the record for all-time leading scorer in the Western Athletic Conference until 2010 and an All-American as well as a three-time All-WAC selection. He is Hawaii's career leader in field goals made and field goal percentage. Elam majored in communications at the University of Hawaii and was awarded Second-team Academic All-American and was the male recipient of the 1992 Stan Bates Award, presented to the WAC's top scholar-athlete .
Professional career
Denver Broncos
Elam was drafted by the Broncos in the third round (70th pick overall) of the 1993 NFL draft.
Elam holds NFL records for best extra point conversion percentage (.995), most consecutive seasons with at least 100 points (15), fastest to 300 successful field goals, and fastest to 1,600 and 1,700 points. Elam was also the first player in NFL history to score at least 200 points against three or more teams: the San Diego Chargers (222), Oakland Raiders (215), and Kansas City Chiefs (203). Elam is tied with Steve Christie, Jason Hanson, and Jim Breech for the most overtime field goals with nine. Elam was named to the Denver Broncos 50th Anniversary Team in 2009.
Elam scored 119 points throughout his rookie season, placing him fourth in the AFC (seventh in NFL) for points scored, while his 26 field goals tied for the fourth-highest total in team history. Elam was successful on four of six field goal attempts longer than 50 yards. His 54-yarder against San Diego Chargers was the fourth-longest in team history.
In 1995, he finished tied for third in the NFL in scoring with 132 points and tied for second in field goals made with 31 as he was voted to his first Pro Bowl. On the season, he was 31 for 38 (.816) on field-goal attempts and 39 for 39 on extra-point attempts. His breakthrough season also included second-team All-Pro honors from both Associated Press and All-AFC honors from Pro Football Weekly. He set the tone for his stellar season in the opener vs. Buffalo Bills, tying a Broncos single-game record with five successful field goals in six attempts (22, 52, 20, 38 and 37 yards). His 56-yarder at Houston was the longest of his career and the second longest in franchise history behind Steinfort 57-yarder vs. Washington in 1980. Elam made a franchise-record 13 consecutive field goals during the middle of the season, beginning with a 30-yarder at Seattle Seahawks and ending with a 35-yarder vs. the Chargers. On December 24 vs. the Oakland Raiders, Elam scored 11 points, including the game-winning 37-yard field goal with 48 seconds remaining, in Denver's 31–28 victory. It was the second time in 1995 that Elam had kicked a game-winning field goal in the final minute.
In 1996, he converted 21 of 28 field goal attempts with a .750 percentage and all 46 extra-point attempts to lead the Broncos with 109 points. He also tied the team record for most extra points in a game with six against the Baltimore Ravens in a 45–34 Broncos win. He connected on his only 50-yard-plus field goal of the 1996 season at San Diego in the regular-season finale.
Atlanta Falcons
On March 21, 2008, the Atlanta Falcons signed Elam to a four-year, $9 million contract with $3.3 million guaranteed. Against the Detroit Lions, he split the uprights on both attempts, his first two in a Falcons uniform. Elam extended his streak of consecutive field goals to 17 and also notched his 38th field goal of 50-plus yards. Against Tampa Bay he made three field goals, all of Atlanta's points in the game.
In week 6 against the Chicago Bears, Elam made five of six field goal attempts from 29, 48, 32, 41, and 48 yards. Chicago came off a miscue with a 77-yard touchdown drive to take a 20–19 lead with 11 seconds to play. Coming off a 26-yard strike from rookie quarterback Matt Ryan to Michael Jenkins, Elam's kick of 48 yards was converted with one second left in the game to clinch a Falcons victory. Along with adding one PAT, Elam accounted for 16 points. His two kicks of 48 yards tied for the second-longest that season. Elam missed a kick from 33 yards in the fourth quarter, which ended a streak of 29 consecutive field goals dating back to the 2007 season. His five field goals made, six field goals attempted and 16 points all tied career-highs.
In 2009, Elam was only eight for 15 in field goals over 30 yards. He was waived on December 1, 2009.
Retirement
On March 30, 2010, Elam signed a one-day ceremonial contract with Denver so he could retire as a Bronco.
Career regular season statistics
Career high/best bolded
Franchise Records
As of 2017's NFL off-season, Jason Elam held at least 8 Broncos franchise records, including:
Extra Points: career (601), game (5 on 2000-10-15 CLE; with Connor Barth), playoffs (39), playoff season (15 in 1997), playoff game (5 on 1999-01-09 MIA)
Field Goals: career (395), season (31 in 1995, 2001), playoffs (15)
Personal life
Elam has a wife, Tammy (a former Broncos cheerleader), four sons (Jason Jr., Joshua Matthew Jackson Asher, and Jude Dawson) and two daughters (Jordan Noel and Julianna Grace).
Books
Elam published his first book in January 2008, titled Monday Night Jihad. He co-wrote it with Steve Yohn, currently pastor at Strasburg Community Church in Strasburg, CO. The book is an action-adventure tale about football and an attempt to stop a terrorist plot.
In a statement issued by his publisher, Elam said, "The genesis of Monday Night Jihad goes back almost 10 years...My brother kept a journal of all the crazy football stories I'd told him over the years. About a year-and-a-half ago, I began to think what if I was able combine all those quirky stories with a terrorist element to create an action-adventure story. Through this story, I want to bring out why people of strong conviction do what they do."
In December 2008, Elam and Yohn released "Blown Coverage", the second book in the Riley Covington Thriller series. In December 2009 "Blackout", the third book was released, and the series was completed with "Inside Threat", released June 2011.
Other media
Jason and his wife were featured in a 2012 episode of Buying Alaska where they purchased an island home in Sitka, Alaska, to live in with their family.