Jason Hanson

Jason Douglas Hanson (born June 17, 1970) is an American former professional football player who was a placekicker with the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL) for 21 seasons. After playing college football with the Washington State Cougars, he was selected by the Lions in the second round of the 1992 NFL draft with the 56th overall pick. Hanson holds the NFL record for the most seasons played with one team and also holds multiple kicking and scoring records. Due to his longevity and statistical success, even on many non-playoff teams, Hanson is often cited as one of the most-loved players in Detroit Lions franchise history.

Early life Born in Spokane, Washington, Hanson graduated from Mead High School in 1988, where he lettered in football, basketball, and soccer. As a senior, Hanson won All-Greater Spokane League honors as both a kicker and punter and was named a first-team All-State honoree by the Washington Sportswriters Association. In the classroom at Mead, he maintained a perfect 4.0 grade point average.

College career Hanson attended Washington State University in Pullman, where he walked-on as a freshman in 1988 and made an immediate impact with the Cougars; he was named to The Sporting News Freshman All-American team. Hanson set or tied many NCAA records, and his percentage of 57.1 for field goals from 50 yards or greater remains a Pac-12 Conference record. He holds the record for most field goals from 50 yards or more (20), and 40 yards or more (39). Hanson's school records include most points scored (328), longest field goal (62 yards), most games with two or more field goals (20), field goals (63), and PATs (139). He was also the punter at WSU during his final two seasons, and was a teammate of quarterback Drew Bledsoe, who arrived in 1990. Hanson earned a Bachelor of Science degree from WSU in pre-med studies, with 3.78 grade point average. Hanson was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2020.

Professional career

Hanson was selected in the second round of the 1992 NFL draft by the Lions, the 56th overall pick. On October 21, 2001, Hanson had a 47 yard field goal blocked against the Tennessee Titans which was returned for 69 yard touchdown by Donald Mitchell.

Hanson retired from the Lions in 2013; no NFL player played as many games (327) with the same team as Hanson, breaking the old record of 296 held by Bruce Matthews in Week 2 of the 2011 season vs. the Kansas City Chiefs. At the beginning of the 2012 season, he set the record for most years with the same club with 21 seasons.

On December 14, 2008, against the Indianapolis Colts, Hanson passed Morten Andersen for most 50+ yard field goals in NFL history. Hanson again had a good year, ending the 2008 NFL season 21-for-22 on field goal attempts (including 8 for 8 from 50+ yards) and 25-for-26 on extra point attempts. Statistically, this was the second best season of Hanson's career with respect to field goal attempts; he missed only one. After the late 2010 NFL season, Hanson had missed only eight extra points in his career, five of which were blocked.

On December 2, 2010, the Lions placed him on injured reserve due to an injured right knee.

Hanson was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Month for September 2011 after kicking a perfect 8 of 8 field goals. It was his fifth-career Special Teams Player of the Month award and his first since November 2003.

Hanson is the team's all-time leader in scoring, with 2,150 points, and in field goals with 495, and holds a variety of other team records for kicking and scoring. He represented the NFC in the Pro Bowl in 1998 and 1999, and was an alternate in 1997 and 2008. He has booted 17 game-winning field goals in his career; eight in regulation and nine in overtime.

On April 4, 2013, Hanson announced his retirement. At the time of his retirement, he was the oldest active player in the NFL, the last player to have played for the same team he played for prior to the advent of free agency, and the last active player to play at Milwaukee County Stadium.

Hanson was named the 2002 recipient of the Detroit Lions/Detroit Sports Broadcasters Association/Pro Football Writers Association's (PFWA) Media-Friendly "Good Guy" Award. The Good Guy Award is given yearly to the Detroit Lions player who shows consideration to, and cooperation with the media at all times during the course of the season. Hanson was also named Offensive Rookie Of The Year by the PFWA in 1992. As of 2024, he remains the only NFL kicker ever awarded that distinction.

The Detroit Lions inducted him into the Ring of Honor in fall 2013 at Ford Field for his success and dedication to Detroit Lions football.

Career regular season statistics Career high/best bolded Regular season statisticsSeasonTeam (record)1992 DET (5–11)16 21 26 80.8 0–0 5–5 10–10 4–6 2–5 52 1 30 30 100.0 931993 DET (10–6)16 34 43 79.1 1–1 8–8 15–15 7–12 3–7 53 1 28 28 100.0 1301994 DET (9–7)16 18 27 66.7 0–0 6–7 7–7 5–8 0–5 49 3 39 40 97.5 931995 DET (10–6)16 28 34 82.4 2–2 4–4 16–17 5–10 1–1 56 3 48 48 100.0 1321996 DET (5–11)16 12 17 70.6 0–0 4–4 4–5 3–4 1–3 51 1 36 36 100.0 721997 DET (9–7)16 26 29 89.7 0–0 10–10 8–9 5–5 3–5 55 0 39 40 97.5 1171998 DET (5–11)16 29 33 87.9 0–0 8–8 7–7 13–15 1–3 51 2 27 29 93.1 1141999 DET (8–8)16 26 32 81.3 0–0 8–8 4–4 10–12 4–8 52 0 28 29 96.6 1062000 DET (9–7)16 24 30 80.0 2–2 6–7 10–12 4–7 2–2 54 2 29 29 100.0 1012001 DET (2–14)16 21 30 70.0 1–1 2–2 8–8 6–12 4–7 54 1 23 23 100.0 862002 DET (3–13)16 23 28 82.1 0–0 8–8 8–9 7–8 0–3 49 0 31 31 100.0 1002003 DET (5–11)16 22 23 95.7 0–0 7–7 6–6 5–6 4–4 54 0 26 27 96.3 922004 DET (6–10)16 24 28 85.7 0–0 9–9 10–11 5–8 0–0 48 0 28 28 100.0 1002005 DET (5–11)15 19 24 79.2 1–1 9–9 3–3 4–7 2–4 52 1 27 27 100.0 842006 DET (3–13)16 29 33 87.9 1–1 12–12 6–6 7–8 3–6 53 0 30 30 100.0 1172007 DET (7–9)16 29 35 82.9 1–1 4–5 10–12 11–13 3–4 53 3 35 36 97.2 1222008 DET (0–16)16 21 22 95.5 0–0 3–3 4–5 6–6 8–8 56 2 25 26 96.2 882009 DET (2–14)16 21 28 75.0 0–0 5–5 8–9 8–11 1–4 50 0 25 25 100.0 882010 DET (6–10)8 12 14 85.7 0–0 1–1 4–4 4–5 3–4 52 0 19 19 100.0 552011 DET (10–6)16 24 29 82.8 0–0 9–9 8–9 2–4 5–7 51 1 54 54 100.0 1262012 DET (4–12)16 32 36 88.9 1–1 3–3 10–10 16–19 2–3 53 0 38 38 100.0 134Career (21 seasons) 327 495 601 82.4 10–10 131–134 166–178 137–186 52–93 56 21 665 673 98.8 2150

Career highlights

Awards and honors NFL Second-team All-Pro (1997) 2× Pro Bowl (1997, 1999) PFWA All-Rookie Team (1992) Pride of the Lions Detroit Lions 75th Anniversary Team Detroit Lions All-Time Team

College College Football Hall of Fame inductee (class of 2020) NFF National Scholar-Athlete Award Unanimous All-American (1989) Michigan Sports Hall of Fame (2014) State of Washington Sports Hall of Fame (2019)

Records NFL records Most field goals of 40 or more yards (career) – 189 Most consecutive field goals of 40 or more yards – 24 (2007–09) Most career seasons with one NFL team – 21 (1992–2012) Most career points with one NFL team – 2,150

Personal life Hanson and his wife, Kathleen, were married in 1992 and have three children. His younger brother Travis was a kicker for the rival University of Washington Huskies, and was a member of the 1991 national championship team. Hanson is a Christian.