These 4 Durable NFL Players Have Played in More Than 350 Games

Football is a physically demanding sport, and while the National Football League (NFL) has made efforts to improve player safety in recent years, the game's physical nature can take its toll on players. According to Investing Fuse, the average NFL career is just 3.3 years, significantly shorter than the average career for players in the NBA, MLB, and NHL. Most players don't get to retire on their own terms and are forced out of the league due to injuries. 

It's unsurprising that the four players with the longest NFL careers are either kickers or punters, who generally don't have to deal with body contact on a game-by-game basis. Tom Brady, a quarterback considered one of the greatest players in league history, played 335 games across 22 seasons, ranking sixth all-time in games played.  

The following kickers and punters are the only players in league history to surpass 350 career regular season games. 

1. Morten Anderson (382) 

Football is considered "America's game," so it's interesting that the all-time leader in games played is from Copenhagen, Denmark. Morten Anderson, selected by the New Orleans Saints in the fourth round of the 1982 NFL Draft, played 382 regular season games with five teams during his 25-year career. 

A seven-time Pro Bowl kicker, Anderson led the league in field goal percentage (86.7) in 1986 and recorded the longest made field goal in the 1991, 1995, and 1997 seasons. He retired following the 2007 season with a career 79.7 percent field goal success rate (565 of 709). He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2017. 

2. Adam Vinatieri (365) 

An undrafted free agent out of South Dakota State, Adam Vinatieri signed with the New England Patriots in 1996, beginning a distinguished career that lasted 365 regular season games over 24 seasons. A four-time Super Bowl champion, Vinatieri was a three-time Pro Bowl kicker and led all kickers in field goal percentage in 2002, 2004, and 2014. He retired in 2019 following his 14th season with the Indianapolis Colts. 

3. Gary Anderson (353) 

Another non-American, Gary Anderson was born in Parys, South Africa, and attended Syracuse University before the Buffalo Bills selected him in the seventh round of the 1982 NFL Draft. Anderson never played with the Bills, but he played 353 career games with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Minnesota Vikings, Philadelphia Eagles, Tennessee Titans, and San Francisco 49ers. He retired in 2004 with a career 80.1 percent field goal success rate (538 of 672). 

4. Jeff Feagles (352) 

Punter Jeff Feagles played 352 career regular-season games through 22 seasons with the New York Giants, Seattle Seahawks, Arizona Cardinals, Eagles, and Patriots. He averaged 41.6 yards per punt and kicked 32.3 percent of his 1,713 career punts inside the opposition's 20-yard line.