All-time points leader Adam Vinatieri retires after 24 NFL seasons

Vinatieri became the NFL's all-time leader in points (2,673) over his 24-year career. The four-time Super Bowl champion made 599 field goals on 715 attempts and 874 extra points on 898 chances. He is best known for his game-tying and game-winning field goals in blizzard conditions during the 2002 Tuck Rule game and his game-winning kicks in Super Bowls XXXVI and XXXVIII for the Patriots. 

The 48-year-old didn't play in 2020 and had a difficult final season in 2019, making just 17-of-25 field-goal attempts and 22-of-28 extra points. He also played just 12 games before undergoing surgery on the meniscus and patellar tendons in his left knee. 

Around the time of his surgery, Vinatieri said he had every intention of returning for another season. However, the procedure he underwent was more complicated than expected, and his recovery didn't go the way he hoped. 

"Every time I try to go out and push it, it pushes back a little bit, which in a weird way, puts the writing on the wall," Vinatieri said on Hall of Fame kicker Morten Andersen's podcast, per the IndyStar.  "I haven't officially, like, given up by any means. But it's not coming back the way I thought it would or wanted it to."