Florida State is about to put Sebastian Janikowski in some very exclusive company.
The Seminoles will retire Janikowski’s No. 38 jersey on Aug. 29 during their college football opener against New Mexico State at Doak Campbell Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. ET, and with the honor, Janikowski becomes the 13th Seminole to have a jersey or number retired.
That’s a rare salute for any player, and even rarer for a kicker. But Janikowski’s Florida State run made the case on its own.
The Poland native moved to Florida before his 10th-grade year and kicked for the Seminoles from 1997 through 1999. He arrived with a leg that changed games fast. As a freshman, he drilled a 56-yard field goal against Wake Forest, which stood as a school record at the time.
By his sophomore season, Janikowski was smashing marks at a different level. He made 27 field goals and scored 123 points, both Florida State and ACC single-season records. He also led the country by converting 84.4% of his attempts.
His senior year finished with a 12-0 record and the program’s second national title. Janikowski went 47-for-47 on extra points and led the nation with 23 field goals.
He wrapped up his college career 66-of-83 on field goals with 324 points. He remains the only two-time winner of the Lou Groza Award, college football’s annual honor for the best kicker.
That success helped Florida State build the kind of reputation most schools can only dream about. The Seminoles became known as “Kicker U,” and the numbers back it up: a Florida State player has won the Groza Award four times, including twice since Janikowski’s wins, which is a record for any school.
His path to the NFL was just as unforgettable. The Oakland Raiders took Janikowski with the 17th overall pick in the 2000 NFL Draft, a first-round choice that still stands out all these years later.
Al Davis made the selection, and the reaction inside the organization was not exactly warm. Longtime Raiders executive Amy Trask said coaches told her “how disappointed and angry they were that Al used that pick on a kicker.”
Janikowski wasn’t in New York for the draft. He was at a golf club in Ormond Beach, Florida, when his agent delivered the news. His response became part of the legend: “Where is Oakland, anyway?”
Then-coach Jon Gruden wanted a different player at the time, but he eventually came around. “Thank God for Raiders fans, they listened to Al Davis and not me,” Gruden said.
Once in Oakland, Janikowski spent 17 seasons with the Raiders and turned that bold draft choice into a franchise staple. He made 414 field goals and scored 1,913 points, both team records. In 2011, he also tied an NFL record with a 63-yard field goal.
No kicker has been taken in the first round in the 26 drafts since Janikowski went 17th overall.
Florida State already recognized him in its athletics hall of fame in 2013, and he was also named to the ACC’s 50th Anniversary Team in 2002. Now the jersey retirement gives him another permanent place in the program’s history, alongside Deion Sanders, Jameis Winston, Peter Warrick, Derrick Brooks, Chris Weinke, Charlie Ward, Fred Biletnikoff, Terrell Buckley, Warrick Dunn, Ron Sellers, Ron Simmons and Marvin Jones.
It also adds another boost to Janikowski’s case with the College Football Hall of Fame. He is a nominee for the 2027 class, and only two placekickers have been inducted: Kevin Butler in 2001 and Jason Hanson in 2020.
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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 🡒]