Florida State’s Week 0 opener against New Mexico State on August 29 already had a packed spotlight: Eric Luallen’s first game as the voice of Doak Campbell, the first season with the stadium renovations completed, and the first look at a new starting quarterback. Now the Seminoles have added another layer, announcing that Sebastian Janikowski will have his No. 38 jersey retired.
Janikowski is one of the most distinctive stars Florida State has ever produced. He remains the only two-time winner of the Lou Groza Award as the nation’s best kicker, and he was the last kicker taken in the first round of the NFL Draft, going No. 17 overall to the Raiders in 2000.
He’ll become the 13th Seminole to have a jersey or number retired, joining:
2 Deion Sanders
5 Jameis Winston
9 Peter Warrick
10 Derrick Brooks
16 Chris Weinke
17 Charlie Ward
25 Fred Biletnikoff
27 Terrell Buckley
28 Warrick Dunn
34 Ron Sellers
50 Ron Simmons
55 Marvin Jones
FSU will honor Janikowski with an in-game ceremony at Doak Campbell Stadium. His No. 38 is currently being worn by freshman linebacker Daylen Green. Sanders, Ward, Biletnikoff, Sellers, and Simmons are the only Seminoles with their numbers retired.
Janikowski’s college résumé makes the move easy to understand. He kicked at Florida State from 1997-99 and helped power the Seminoles to their second national championship in 1999.
As a freshman in 1997, he was a freshman All-American. In 1998, he set FSU and ACC records with 27 made field goals and points while also leading the NCAA in field goal percentage.
Then in 1999, he led the country again, this time with 23 made field goals.
He entered the FSU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2013, but he is still waiting for a spot in the College Football Hall of Fame. Only two place kickers, Washington State’s Jason Hanson and Kevin Butler, have made that hall, and Janikowski’s case stands out among them.
Part of what made him unforgettable was the look. The Polish kicker moved to Florida before his 10th-grade year and was built like a linebacker at 6-foot-1, 255 pounds.
He played in the NFL as heavy as 265 pounds during his 18-year career. That size only added to the legend, and now Florida State is putting him in the permanent company of its all-time greats.
In Other News...
Florida State Basketball Enters A New Era With A First For The Program
Florida State basketball is about to add a new look as the program steps into a sponsorship model that has never been part of Seminole athletics before. Florida State Athletics announced a multi-year partnership with ReliaQuest, making the company the official jersey patch partner for the men's basketball team beginning in the 2026-27 season, with the logo set to appear on all game jerseys.
The deal marks the first jersey patch sponsorship in Florida State Athletics history, a notable shift for a program now tying its identity to a corporate partner in a more visible way. The school framed the move as a shared commitment to innovation and excellence, and it gives the basketball program a fresh layer of distinction as it prepares for a new era on the floor. [Read more 🡒]
Florida State's Secondary Just Took A Tough Hit At Safety
Florida States secondary took a significant blow with Karson Hobbs sidelined after a season-ending knee injury, a setback confirmed by coach Mike Norvell. The Notre Dame transfer had been working through a position change and giving the Seminoles another option in the back end, which made his progress one of the more quietly important developments in camp and early-season preparation.
Hobbs absence leaves Florida State thinner at safety, especially with the staff still sorting out the best pieces behind its top group. The encouraging part is that he is expected to recover, but for now the Seminoles have to absorb the loss of a player who was starting to fit into the rotation and could have helped stabilize a position that does not have much margin for error. [Read more 🡒]
Florida State Football Faces An Awkward Revenue Question Fans Will Notice
The NCAAs new approval of commercial patches on uniforms has opened another lane for athletic departments to chase revenue, and plenty of schools have already moved quickly to lock in sponsorships across multiple sports. Florida State has taken a step in that direction with its announced Reliaquest patch deal, though that agreement is tied to basketball and begins in the 2026-27 season, leaving the broader push around uniform branding very much in motion.
What stands out for Seminoles fans is that football, the sport that drives the biggest spotlight and the biggest dollars, still does not have a patch deal in place. In a market where athletic departments are weighing every new revenue stream and trying to keep pace with the national heavyweights, the absence of a football sponsorship only adds another layer to the discussion about how aggressively Florida State is monetizing its brand and where the next move might come from. [Read more 🡒]