Sebastian Janikowski

Early life

Sebastian Janikowski was born on March 2, 1978, as an only child to Henryk and Halina Janikowski in Wałbrzych, Poland. His father was a professional soccer player and moved to the United States in the early 1980s in the hopes of reviving his career. Years after Henryk emigrated from Poland, his parents divorced, and Henryk married an American citizen. Left at home with just his mother, Janikowski began to excel at soccer himself, and Janikowski earned a spot on the Polish under-17 team at age 15.

His father's marriage to an American meant that Janikowski could legally emigrate to the United States. He spoke very little English, but learned quickly by taking a three-week night class and by watching television. Janikowski played in only five games for the Orangewood Christian soccer team, but led them to the Class A State Championship game by scoring 15 goals, where they lost to Lakeland Christian on penalty kicks (3–2). Then living in Orlando, Florida with his father and stepmother, Janikowski joined the Orlando Lions, an under-19 soccer club coached by Angelo Rossi. Rossi was also the soccer coach at Seabreeze High School in Daytona Beach, and convinced Henryk that his son would be better off there. Henryk agreed, but was unwilling to move, so Janikowski moved in with Rossi's family.

As a senior at Seabreeze, Janikowski played both soccer and football after being recruited by the school's football coach. As the team's placekicker, he quickly earned a reputation by kicking four field goals of 50+ yards. One of them was for 60 yards, third-best in Florida high school history. During a practice at Seabreeze High, Janikowski kicked an 82-yard field goal. USA Today named him to its 1996 All-American team. After being heavily recruited by some of the top collegiate football programs, Janikowski decided on Florida State University.

College career

Janikowski attended Florida State University, where he played for coach Bobby Bowden's Florida State Seminoles football team. Bowden later said, "Boy, have you ever thought about how many national championships we might have won if we had Janikowski every year of my career?" In three seasons, Janikowski amassed a career scoring total of 324 points (3rd all-time for the school). In 1999, he won the Lou Groza Award for a second consecutive year, an honor given annually to the nation's top collegiate kicker. Janikowski is currently the only player to win this award two years consecutively. He became popular with fans for being able to placekick a kick-off through the endzone uprights, having done it so often that the stadium monitors would display field goal graphics even though it was a kick-off and not an actual field goal attempt.

Janikowski was first called "Seabass" while playing for FSU.

Janikowski's career at FSU was not without incident. In August 1998, he got into a fight outside of a Tallahassee bar and was charged with failure to leave the premises; Janikowski pled no contest to the misdemeanor offense. That same year, the night after a season-ending win over rival Florida, Janikowski got into a fight at a local bar and was charged with battery.

In the 1999 season, FSU was again in contention for a national title. Prior to the team's appearance in the national championship game (the 2000 Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, Louisiana), Janikowski declared his intentions to declare himself eligible for the 2000 NFL draft, saying that his primary reason for foregoing his senior year was to pay for his mother to come to the United States. In his final game for FSU, Janikowski converted 5-of-5 PATs and kicked a 32-yard field goal, helping the Seminoles win their second national championship.

Although Janikowski's skill as a kicker was unquestioned by NFL scouts, his off-the-field behavior was a cause of concern. In January 2000, Janikowski was partying with a group of friends when his high school friend was arrested at a nightclub. Janikowski, who later said that he was thinking he could save everyone paperwork and the trouble, approached the arresting officer and asked how much it would take to let his friend go. He was then arrested for attempting to bribe an officer, a charge that carried a $5,000 fine, up to five years in prison, and possible deportation. Janikowski claimed that he thought he could pay a fine to have his friend released, but the officer interpreted the action as an attempted bribe.

Professional career

Oakland Raiders

Janikowski was selected by the Oakland Raiders in the first round (17th overall) of the 2000 NFL draft. In a retrospective about his selection years later, it was said that team owner Al Davis, frustrated at the middling success at the kicker position (the previous season saw them make just one field goal from 50 yards out), wanted to see if he could find a kicker to solve the problem swiftly. While team coach Jon Gruden was stated to have preferred Sylvester Morris or perhaps Shaun Alexander, he went with Davis on the pick for Janikowski, the first pure placekicker to be selected in the first round in the modern era.

Shortly after the draft, Janikowski was acquitted of his bribery charge. He had testified on his own behalf, stating that he was simply trying to pay his friend's fine (as opposed to bribing the arresting officer). Just eight days after his acquittal, Janikowski and two friends were arrested in Tallahassee on suspicion of felony possession of the drug GHB. Once again, he faced prison time or deportation if convicted, but was acquitted of all charges in April 2001.

Janikowski's professional career got off to a rough start: in 2000, only 68.8% of his field goal attempts were successful. Despite the struggles, Janikowski converted all 46 extra point attempts as a rookie.

In the 2001 season, Janikowski made 82.1% of his field goal attempts.

In the 2002 season, Janikowski converted all 50 extra point attempts and 26 of 33 field goal attempts. Janikowski reached Super Bowl XXXVII with the Raiders in 2002, and kicked an early field goal in the first quarter. His kick briefly gave the Raiders a 3–0 lead over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This would be the Raiders' only lead of the game as they lost 48–21.

On October 16, 2003, during the second quarter, Janikowski tied the NFL record by completing four field goals in a single quarter. In the 2003 season, he converted 28 of 29 extra point attempts and 22 of 25 field goal attempts.

In the 2004 season, Janikowski converted 31 of 32 extra point attempts and 25 of 28 field goal attempts. After the 2004 season, Janikowski was given a five-year contract extension reportedly worth $10.5 million. This made him (at the time) the highest paid kicker in NFL history.

Seattle Seahawks

On April 13, 2018, Janikowski signed a one-year contract with the Seattle Seahawks. He won the Seahawks starting kicking job after the team released Jason Myers on August 20.

During Week 12 against the Carolina Panthers, Janikowski made all three extra points and three field goals, including a 31-yard game winner as the Seahawks won 30–27. He was named the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance. Janikowski finished the 2018 season converting 48 of 51 extra point attempts and 22 of 27 field goal attempts.

On January 5, 2019, Janikowski missed a 57-yard field goal against the Dallas Cowboys during the Wild Card Round and suffered a hamstring injury on the same missed field goal kick. The kicker position was left in the hands of rookie Seahawks punter, Michael Dickson, who missed an onside kick that would have potentially put the Seahawks back in position to score and win the game.

Retirement

On April 28, 2019, Janikowski announced his retirement after 19 years in the NFL. He ended his career as the Raiders' all-time leading scorer, with 1,799 points.

NFL career statistics

Records

NFL records

Most field goals in one quarter: 4 (tied)

Most extra points in a Pro Bowl: 8

Longest field goal attempt: 76 yards against the San Diego Chargers on September 28, 2008