Adam Vinatieri didn’t treat his Hall of Fame moment like a formal acceptance speech. He turned it into a live roast.
The NFL’s all-time leading points scorer was enshrined in Canton on Saturday with Larry Fitzgerald, Roger Craig, Luke Kuechly and Drew Brees, and while the others delivered heartfelt tributes, Vinatieri spent much of his time firing jokes at the people who helped shape his career.
His sharpest swing came at Bill Belichick. The former Patriots and Colts kicker said, “Unfortunately, Bill couldn't make it here today,” then added, “There's a lot going on at UNC right now,” a line that landed just days after UNC football general manager Michael Lombardi was placed on administrative leave following a human resources complaint.
Vinatieri kept going, saying, “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 crowd reacted with a mix of laughter and shock, but Vinatieri didn’t stop there. He still called Belichick the greatest coach of all time and followed it with a sincere note: “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.”
He also took aim at Pat McAfee, the former Colts punter who served as Vinatieri’s holder on field goals, with an explicit line: Vinatieri joked that McAfee is “the only person who enjoyed holding my balls more than my wife.”
Peyton Manning got his share too. Vinatieri thanked the quarterback for “generously donating your forehead” to be used as a teleprompter, then added, “A gigantic forehead means a big brain, and your football IQ is unmatched, buddy.”
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