Harry Kane has raised eyebrows by revealing he is seriously considering a future in American football as an NFL placekicker, potentially while playing soccer in Major League Soccer. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday during England duty, Kane said the idea of combining careers in MLS and the NFL is something he wants to explore in the coming years.
“That is something I will try and look at a bit more seriously,” Kane told The Athletic. “It all depends on what happens in my career over the next five or six years, the motivation and what I want to do. The NFL is a lot more realistic than the golf one, let’s put it that way.”
Kane, 33, is no stranger to contemplating life beyond football. He first mentioned the idea of trying out as an NFL kicker back in 2019, telling ESPN’s Bruce Schoenfeld he hoped to attempt it in “10 or 12 years.” Now, with a decorated career behind him including captaining England at World Cups and European Championships and winning multiple titles with Bayern Munich, Kane feels the moment to seriously consider a switch is approaching.
The striker, who scored 61 goals across all competitions last season to help Bayern clinch a second consecutive Bundesliga title, as well as the German Cup and Supercup, said that playing in MLS in the future could complement a stint as an NFL kicker. “Maybe if I am in the MLS in the future or somewhere like that it might be a thing where you could connect the two, with the seasons,” Kane explained. “But it is in the back of my mind because right now, I am feeling that I want to play as long as I can here.”
Kane drew parallels between the pressure of placing a penalty in soccer and kicking in American football, noting the similarity in technique. “If I did that, in terms of training, I would be closer to that more than to any other sport,” he said. “But as I know, with all elite sports, when you watch it on TV, people make it look easy, and you think it is possible, but that is not always the case. If I was to do it, it is something I would take seriously. I would take six months to a year to try and practice before.”
Kane’s thoughts echo the path of Dallas Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey, who transitioned from college soccer at Notre Dame to professional football. Aubrey was a first-round pick by Toronto FC in the 2017 MLS SuperDraft but left soccer in 2018 before working on his placekicking skills. He was drafted by the Birmingham Stallion of the USFL in 2022 and signed by the Cowboys a year later.
Kane, who said he was “fairly close” to agreeing on a new contract with Bayern Munich, remains focused on his current career while weighing his options. “I think sometimes it is easy to get to my age, 33, you start thinking about retirement or the future but I am trying to extract everything I can from the last two, five or 10 years, I will keep going.”
The 2026 Ballon d’Or nominee's openness about a dual-sport future adds a new chapter to his career, with the NFL prospect increasingly moving from a distant idea to a potential next step.
According to Yahoo Sports.
