Sebastian Janikowski told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Sunday that after 19 seasons, he is retiring from the NFL at the age of 41.
“It was a good run. I still think of the Super Bowl — it still hurts,” he said, referring to the Oakland Raiders‘ 48-21 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl XXXVII.
He told ESPN that he thought his body couldn’t take the rigors of kicking in the NFL any longer.
Janikowski, nicknamed Seabass, made more money in his career than any other kicker in NFL history. According to Spotrac.com he made $53.29 million in his NFL career.
Janikowski signed a one-year deal worth $2.015 million with the Seahawks last year after spending his first 18 NFL seasons with the Oakland Raiders.
His 2018 season was a mixed bag. Janikowski went 22-of-27 on field goal attempts for an 81.5 percent conversion rate that ranked 23rd among kickers. Three of those kicks, however, were game winners as time expired, and he was 48-of-51 on PATs.
Janikowski made a pair of field goals in the Seahawks’ wild-card loss to the Dallas Cowboys before injuring his hamstring while attempting a long field goal at the end of the first half. His absence forced the Seahawks to go for two-point conversions on their two second-half touchdowns as punter Michael Dickson handled the ensuing kickoffs.
A surprise choice as the 17th overall pick in 2000, Janikowski left as the Raiders’ all-time leading scorer, with 1,799 points. Tom Brady is now the only player in the NFL from the 2000 draft.
Janikowski’s 1,913 points rank 10th in NFL history, his 436 made field goals are tied with Jason Elam for ninth, and his 542 attempts are 10th.
His powerful left leg has booted an NFL-record 58 field goals of 50 yards or longer, including a 63-yarder in 2011 against the Broncos in Denver that tied the NFL record at the time.
ESPN’s Brady Henderson contributed to this report.