Harry Kane has spent the last three years piling up goals in the Bundesliga, but his next big target might involve an oval ball. At St. George’s Park on Wednesday, the England captain said he’ll look at becoming an NFL placekicker “a bit more seriously” down the road, and he floated a twist: pairing it with a late-career move to MLS.
Harry Kane NFL Kicker Ambition: What He Said and What Comes Next
Kane, 33, spoke as England prepared to host World Cup winners Spain in the Nations League on Saturday. He told reporters it all depends on how his career goes over the next five or six years, including his motivation, and called the NFL a much more realistic route than his old dream of going pro in golf, where he plays to a two handicap. The idea isn’t new. Back in 2015, as a 22-year-old at Tottenham, he said he’d love to be an NFL kicker once his soccer career ended.
For now, soccer comes first. Kane says he’s “fairly close” to a new contract at Bayern, with his current deal running through 2027 and an extension reportedly stretching to at least 2029. He says he feels comfortable with the team, the coach and the environment, and wants to keep performing at this level for as long as possible. He’s coming off a 73-goal season and is a contender for this year’s Ballon d’Or.
Why Kane Thinks His Penalty Skills Could Translate to Field Goals
Kane sees a direct link between the two kicks. Taking penalties, he says, brings very similar pressure and technique, and he estimates he’d need six months to a year of dedicated training before trying to compete. He’s also a longtime Tom Brady admirer and a New England Patriots fan.
Kane points to Dallas Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey as proof it can be done. Aubrey was a first-round Toronto FC pick out of Notre Dame who never played for the MLS team, spent time in the USL, then left soccer to work as a software engineer. He hadn’t kicked competitively until he joined the USFL’s Birmingham Stallions. In April, he signed a four-year, $28 million extension with the Dallas Cowboys that made him the highest-paid kicker in NFL history. Aubrey has kicked six field goals of 60 yards or longer, the most in league history.
Could an MLS Stint Make the Dual-Sport Idea Work?
Kane said that if he ends up in the league at some point, it might be a way to “connect the two” careers, and it’s the first time he has publicly floated the possibility of playing there. It’s unclear how the schedules would mesh. MLS is moving to a July-to-May calendar beginning with the 2027-28 season, so its games will run through the fall and winter, right alongside the NFL’s.
Kane got a taste of the U.S. this summer at the World Cup, where he scored six goals as England finished third. Still, he made clear that a move is a ways off. Right now, he says, he wants to keep playing at the top level in Europe for as long as he can.
So this is still a daydream, not a career change. But it’s a daydream with a growing paper trail, and the image of one of the game’s most clinical finishers lining up a 50-yard field goal is hard to shake.
Harry Kane’s NFL Kicker Dream Is Getting Serious, With MLS in the Mix