Adam Vinatieri didn’t exactly deliver a soft-focus Hall of Fame speech in Canton.
Instead, the NFL’s all-time leading points scorer used his induction Saturday to unload a string of jokes at the expense of former teammates and coaches, turning what was supposed to be a formal moment into a live roast on ESPN.
Vinatieri, the four-time Super Bowl champion who was enshrined alongside Larry Fitzgerald, Roger Craig, Luke Kuechly and Drew Brees, saved some of his sharpest lines for Bill Belichick. The longtime Patriots coach was absent from the ceremony, and Vinatieri took the opening to needle Belichick’s relationship with Jordon Hudson.
"Unfortunately, Bill couldn't make it here today," Vinatieri said Saturday during his speech.
"There's a lot going on at UNC right now," he added, just days after UNC football general manager Michael Lombardi was placed on administrative leave following a human resources complaint.
Vinatieri kept going.
"He might be on a recruiting trip right now looking for the next Lawrence Taylor. I thought it was because training camp had already started. But in truth, it's because he's judging his girlfriend's cheerleading competition."
The line drew laughs and plenty of shock from the crowd, but Vinatieri didn’t pause to soak it in. He followed the joke by praising Belichick as the greatest coach of all time and thanking him for the standards he set.
"Thank you for demanding excellence every single day," Vinatieri said of Belichick. "Your preparation, discipline and attention to detail shaped far more than my football career."
Belichick wasn’t the only target. Vinatieri also went after Pat McAfee, his former Colts teammate and holder on field goals, with an explicit joke that landed as one of the night’s most memorable lines.
Vinatieri said McAfee is "the only person who enjoyed holding my balls more than my wife."
He also aimed a playful shot at Peyton Manning, thanking the quarterback for "generously donating your forehead" to be used as a teleprompter.
"A gigantic forehead means a big brain, and your football IQ is unmatched, buddy," Vinatieri said of Manning.
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