More than 20,000 days after the New Orleans Saints' Tom Dempsey booted an NFL-record 63-yard field goal, the Jacksonville Jaguars' Cam Little converted a record 68-yard kick that at one time seemed impossible.
Little doesn't believe his record, set on Nov. 2, 2025, against the Las Vegas Raiders, will have anywhere near the longevity of Dempsey's memorable kick. Not in today's NFL game of booming boots and colossal kicks.
"Probably not long considering you look at guys like Brandon Aubrey, (Jake) Bates, (Harrison) Butker, those guys are freakin' phenomenons," Little said in a recent interview with The Schmo, an interviewer known for his work in the world of mixed martial arts. "They're gonna break that probably in no time, or I'll break it again, so who knows."
The Detroit Lions' Bates has led the NFL in extra points in each of his two seasons in the league, but has yet to join the 60-yard club, falling just short with a long of 59. Two-time Super Bowl champion Butker, however, has twice hit from that distance, recording makes of 62 and 60 yards for the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Dallas Cowboys' Aubrey, on the other foot, has quickly become known for his long-distance dialing. In just three seasons -- all of them Pro Bowl campaigns -- the long leg of the west has converted a league all-time record of six 60-plus-yard field goals. It seemed inevitable that he would break Justin Tucker's 66-yard record set in 2021, but it was the Little big leg who garnered history.
Trailing, 6-0, against a struggling Raiders team, Little rallied the Jaguars with his 68-yard make at Allegiant Stadium with no time left in the first half. He made two more field goals in the game and, fittingly, hit an extra point in overtime that stood as the game-winner.
"We needed to put three points on the board," said Little, who also had the second-longest FG in history last year at 67 yards. "No, it was a long one, but I was excited about it."
Little, a 2024 sixth-round pick out of Arkansas, was more confident in his leg strength than he was getting a chance to show it. Practice and pregame are most often the time for kickers to flex their might.
"You do in practice a lot but you never know when you're gonna get an opportunity in a game, so it was honestly just a blessing to get the opportunity," he said.
Long-range opportunities and successes are becoming more and more common in the NFL as of late, though.
Matt Prater, playing for the Denver Broncos, broke Dempsey's 43-year-old record with his 64-yard make on Dec. 18, 2013. It had previously been tied by the Broncos' Jason Elam (1998) and the Oakland Raiders' Sebastian Janikowski (2011). Between Dempsey and Prater's 60-yard shots, there were nine field goals made in the NFL of 60-plus (11 if you include Dempsey and Prater's kicks).
In 2025, there was an astonishing 12 field goals of 60-plus yards in the NFL. Little had two of 67-plus last season, and Aubrey had a 64-yarder.
So, while 60-yard territory was once so foreign for NFL kickers, this is a new frontier, with the undiscovered land of 70 yards perhaps the next milestone to be had.
After all, Little first made news in the 2025 preseason when he converted a 70-yarder.
Perhaps he'll do it officially and break his own standard in the season ahead.
"I'd like to believe I do," he said when asked if he had 70-plus in him, "yeah."
