A former soccer player turned walk-on kicker who won UFL Special Teams Player of the Year before landing an NFL contract with New Orleans.
Tanner Brown is a placekicker whose path to the NFL wound through three different college programs and two pro leagues. After going undrafted out of Oklahoma State, he built his resume in the UFL, capping a record-setting 2026 season with a championship and Special Teams Player of the Year honors before signing with the Saints.
Path to the league
Brown grew up in Santa Clarita, California, and played soccer before switching to football as a sophomore at Saugus High School. He kicked at College of the Canyons, then UNLV as a walk-on, before finishing his college career at Oklahoma State, where in his final season he converted 22 of 23 field goals and all 42 extra points, ranking third nationally in field goal percentage and earning second-team All-Big 12 honors.
Career highlights
Brown made 39 of 44 field goals (88.6%) across his Oklahoma State career and was a Lou Groza Award semifinalist. After going undrafted in 2023, he signed with the Los Angeles Rams and later spent time on the Atlanta Falcons' practice squad before joining the UFL's Louisville Kings.
2025 season recap
Brown's lone NFL game action to date came in the 2023 preseason with the Rams, where he went 2-for-4 on field goals. He spent the following seasons rebuilding his case in the UFL, and in 2026 he broke the league's single-season field goal record by converting 25 of 28 regular-season attempts (89.3%) and going 4-for-4 in the playoffs, earning UFL Special Teams Player of the Year and a championship with Louisville before the Saints signed him in June 2026.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Tanner Brown
- New Orleans Saints: Tanner Brown
Player Profile
Background
- Position
- Place Kicker
- Group
- specialTeam
- College
- Oklahoma State
- Hometown
- Saugus, CA, USA
- Age
- 26
- Status
- active
Team
