Robbie Gould

His father was a three-time All-American soccer player who led Lock Haven University to a Division II national championship in 1980, and was drafted by the St. Louis Steamers in the early 1980s.

Gould attended Central Mountain High School in Mill Hall, Pennsylvania, where he won letters in football, soccer, basketball, and track.

Gould was originally interested in pursuing professional soccer while still in high school.

Choosing football instead, he asked his principal to send a letter of recommendation to Penn State University head football coach Joe Paterno, who invited him to try out as a freshman walk-on.

Gould enrolled at Penn State, where he played for the Nittany Lions football team and earned a degree in business management.

In four years with the Nittany Lions, he converted 115 of 121 extra point attempts and 39 of 61 field goal attempts.

Robert Paul Gould III (born December 6, 1982) is an American former professional football player who was a placekicker for 18 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Chicago Bears.

He played college football for the Penn State Nittany Lions.

Gould was originally signed by the New England Patriots as an undrafted free agent in 2005.

He played with the Bears from 2005 to 2015, earning first-team All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors in 2006, and became the franchise's all-time leading scorer.

Gould also played for the New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers.

Gould is the ninth-most accurate placekicker in NFL history, and never missed a field goal or an extra-point attempt in the postseason.

After going undrafted in the 2005 NFL Draft, Gould was signed as a free agent by the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots prior to the 2005 NFL preseason — even though they already had established Super Bowl-winning placekicker Adam Vinatieri.

Following his preseason release from the Patriots, Gould signed with the Baltimore Ravens only to be waived three weeks later.

He then found construction work with M&R Contracting in Mill Hall, Pennsylvania.

The Chicago Bears signed Gould on October 8, 2005, following the Week 3 injury of their starting kicker, Doug Brien.

Gould kicked his first NFL field goal the next week in a 20–10 road loss against the Cleveland Browns, and his first game-winner in Week 9 against the New Orleans Saints.

He earned NFC Special Teams Player of the Week for his game against the Saints.

In his rookie season, Gould appeared in 13 games and converted 19 of 20 extra point attempts and 21 of 27 field goal attempts.

Gould kicked 26 consecutive field goals in 2006, breaking former Bears' kicker Kevin Butler's record of most consecutive field goals and winning NFC Special Teams Player of the Week for Week 16 against the Detroit Lions and NFC Special Teams Player of the Month for October 2006 in the process.

He was also named to the 2006 All-Pro team by the Associated Press.

In addition, NFL fans across the nation voted Gould the NFC's kicker for the 2007 Pro Bowl.

His 25-yard overtime field goal against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers gave the Bears home-field advantage throughout the ensuing playoffs.

On January 14, 2007, his 49-yard field goal in overtime against the Seattle Seahawks gave the Bears their first divisional playoff win since 1988, advancing them to the NFC Championship, which they defeated the New Orleans Saints by a score of 39–14.

The Bears later lost Super Bowl XLI to the Indianapolis Colts by a score of 29–17.

He earned First Team All-Pro honors.

In the 2007 season, Gould appeared in all 16 games and converted all 33 extra point attempts and 31 of 36 field goal attempts.

In 2008, Gould was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Month for December 2008 after making all eight of his field-goal attempts including two more overtime game-winners, becoming the fourth kicker of overtime game-winning field goals in back-to-back games in NFL history.

He converted 26 of 29 field-goal attempts (89.7 percent) in 2008, breaking his own franchise single-season record for accuracy.

On May 12, 2008, he signed a five-year extension with the Bears that would keep him on the team through the 2013 season.

The contract, reportedly worth $15.5 million, included a $4.25 million signing bonus and made Gould the NFL's highest-paid kicker.

Going into the 2009 season, he had converted 84.8 percent of his career field goal attempts.

In the 2009 season, Gould appeared in all 16 games and converted all 33 extra point attempts and 24 of 28 field goal attempts.

Gould finished his career as the 10th all-time leading scorer in NFL history.

Gould was born to Cheryl and Robert Gould in Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania.

In the 2010 season, Gould appeared in all 16 games and converted all 35 extra point attempts and 25 of 30 field goal attempts.

In the 2011 season, Gould appeared in all 16 games and converted all 37 extra point attempts and 28 of 32 field goal attempts.

In the 2012 season, Gould made his tenth career game-winning field goal against the Carolina Panthers in Week 8, and his ten consecutive field goals from 50 yards or more without a miss was second behind Tony Zendejas.

Before pregame warm-ups during Week 14 against the Minnesota Vikings, Gould strained his left calf.

After limited play during the game, he was placed on injured reserve for the rest of the year.