Matt Bryant
Steven Matt Bryant, nicknamed "Money Matt", is an American former professional football player who was a kicker in the National Football League. He played college football for the Baylor Bears, and was signed as an unrestricted free agent by the AFL's Iowa Barnstormers in 2000. A Pro Bowler with the Atlanta Falcons in 2016, he was also a member of the New York Giants, Frankfurt Galaxy, Indianapolis Colts, Miami Dolphins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Florida Tuskers.
Early life
Bryant was born in Orange, Texas. He played football and baseball at Bridge City High School in Bridge City, Texas, and holds the school record for the longest field goal at 52 yards.College career
After graduating from high school, Bryant attended Trinity Valley Community College in Athens, Texas, where he was two-time NJCAA All-American and a member of the 1994 national championship team. He then signed with Oregon State University and later transferred to Baylor University, where he played in the 1997 and 1998 seasons and ranks seventh in the all-time scoring list with 105 points. Bryant's 21 field goals place him fifth in Bears history. He set the school record with a 100 percent success rate when he made 42-of-42 extra points. After graduating from Baylor, Bryant went undrafted and worked at a pawn shop, then as a personal trainer. He was named to the 1990s Baylor All-Decade Team following his collegiate career.College statistics
Professional career
Iowa Barnstormers
After not being selected in the 1999 NFL draft, Bryant signed with Iowa Barnstormers of the Arena Football League on November 17, 1999, after the 1999 season, but he was cut on April 4, 2000, before the regular season began.New York Giants
On January 9, 2002, Bryant signed with the NFL's New York Giants, who allocated him to the NFL Europe's Berlin Thunder on March 15. On March 30, the Thunder placed Bryant on injured reserve, and the Thunder cut Bryant on May 10. The Giants then reassigned Bryant to the Frankfurt Galaxy. Bryant never played for either NFL Europe team due to a quadriceps injury.2002 season
On September 5, he made his NFL debut against the San Francisco 49ers. He converted two field goal attempts and one extra point attempt in the 16–13 loss. In Week 3, against the Seattle Seahawks, Bryant was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week. In the 9–6 victory, he was responsible for all of the Giants' points on three field goals. In Week 11, against the Washington Redskins, Bryant earned another NFC Special Teams Player of the Week award by converting four field goals and an extra point in the 19–17 victory. In Week 17, he had a 39-yard game-winning field goal in overtime of the 10–7 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles. He converted 30-of-32 extra point attempts and 26-of-32 field goal attempts in his rookie season. He made his playoff debut in the Giants' 39–38 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in the Wild Card Round. In the game, he converted five extra points and one of two field goal attempts.2003 season
In the 2003 season, Bryant appeared in the first four games before suffering a hamstring injury. During that stretch, he converted an overtime game-winning field goal against the Washington Redskins in Week 3. He returned to the team in Week 11 against the Philadelphia Eagles. Overall, he appeared in 11 games and converted all 17 extra point attempts and made 11-of-14 field goal attempts.2004 season
On July 30, 2004, Bryant was cut by new coach Tom Coughlin.Indianapolis Colts and Miami Dolphins
Bryant signed with the Dallas Cowboys on August 17, 2004, and was cut on September 5, 2004. He later played one week with the Indianapolis Colts and then three weeks with the Miami Dolphins. On the season, he converted all 12 extra point attempts and three field goals on four attempts.Tampa Bay Buccaneers
2005 season
Bryant was signed as a free agent by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers prior to the 2005 season. In Week 16, against the Atlanta Falcons, he had a game-winning 41-yard field goal in overtime of the 27–24 victory. In the 2005 season, he appeared in 14 games and converted all 31 extra point attempts and 21-of-25 field goal attempts. Bryant and the Buccaneers made the playoffs where they were eliminated by the Washington Redskins in the Wild Card Round by a score of 17–10.2006 season
On October 22, in Week 7, Bryant successfully converted a 62-yard field goal as time expired in Tampa Bay's 23–21 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles. In addition to the 62-yarder, he converted two other field goals and two extra points and earned his third career NFC Special Teams Player of the Week nomination. The game-winning field goal was the second longest in NFL history at the time, behind the 63-yard field goals kicked by Tom Dempsey in 1970 and Jason Elam in 1998. On October 23, in response to his 62-yard field goal, Mayor Pam Iorio declared October 23 to be "Matt Bryant Day" in Tampa, Florida. In the 2006 season, Bryant appeared in all 16 games of the Buccaneers' 4–12 season. On the season, he converted 22-of-23 extra point attempts and 17-of-22 field goal attempts.2007 season
In the 2007 season, Bryant appeared in all 16 games of the Buccaneers' 9–7 season and one playoff game. In Week 6, against the Tennessee Titans, he converted a game-winning 43-yard field goal with 11 seconds remaining in the 13–10 victory. On the season, he converted all 34 extra point attempts and 28-of-33 field goal attempts. In the Wild Card Round against the New York Giants, Bryant converted both extra point attempts in the 24–14 loss.2008 season
In the 2008 season, Bryant appeared in all 16 games of the Buccaneers' 9–7 season. In Week 3, against the Chicago Bears, he had a game-winning 21-yard field goal in overtime of the 27–24 victory. In Week 4, against the Green Bay Packers, Bryant earned his fourth career NFC Special Teams Player of the Week nomination. In the 30–21 victory, he converted three field goal attempts and three extra point attempts. On the season, he converted 35-of-36 extra point attempts and 32-of-38 field goal attempts. For the first time in his NFL career, he finished in the top five players in total scoring, landing in fourth place with 131 points.On September 5, 2009, the Buccaneers released Bryant and replaced him with Mike Nugent.
Florida Tuskers
Prior to the start of the 2009 season, the Florida Tuskers of the United Football League signed Bryant to a contract.Atlanta Falcons
2009 season
Bryant was signed by the Atlanta Falcons on December 1, 2009, to replace veteran Jason Elam. He appeared in five games of the Falcons' 9–7 season. In Week 14, against the New Orleans Saints, he had his best scoring performance of the season. In the 26–23 loss, he converted all three field goal attempts and both extra point attempts. On the season, he converted all 10 extra point attempts and 7-of-10 field goal attempts.2010 season
In the 2010 season, Bryant appeared in all 16 games of the Falcons' 13–3 season and one playoff game. In Week 4, against the San Francisco 49ers, Bryant earned his fifth career NFC Special Teams Player of the Week nomination. In the 16–14 victory, he converted three field goal attempts and one extra point attempt. The last of the three field goals was a go-ahead 43-yard attempt that left only two seconds remaining. In Week 12, against the Green Bay Packers, Bryant converted a go-ahead 47-yard field goal with only nine seconds remaining in the 20–17 victory. On the season, he converted all 44 extra point attempts and 28-of-31 field goal attempts. For the second time in his career, he finished in the top five players in scoring with 128 points scored. In the Divisional Round of the playoffs, Bryant converted all three extra points in the 48–21 loss to the Green Bay Packers.2011 season
In the 2011 season, Bryant appeared in all 16 games of the Falcons' 10–6 season. In Week 4, against the Seattle Seahawks, he had his best scoring performance of the season. He converted all three field goal attempts and all three extra point attempts in the 30–28 victory. On the season, he converted all 45 extra point attempts and 27-of-29 field goal attempts.2012 season
In the 2012 season, Bryant appeared in all 16 games of the Falcons' 13–3 season and two playoff games. In the season opener against the Kansas City Chiefs, he converted all four field goal attempts and all four extra point attempts in the 40–24 victory. In Week 4, against the Carolina Panthers, he converted a game-winning 40-yard field goal with five seconds remaining to win 30–28. In Week 6, against the Oakland Raiders, he converted a game-winning 55-yard field goal with one second remaining to help the Falcons win 23–20. On the season, he converted all 44 extra point attempts and 33-of-38 field goal attempts. He finished a then career-best third in the league in scoring with 143 points scored. In the Divisional Round against the Seattle Seahawks, Bryant kicked a game-winning 49-yard field goal to send the Falcons to the NFC Championship Game with a 30–28 victory. In the NFC Championship, he converted three extra point attempts and one field goal attempt as the Falcons fell 28–24 to the San Francisco 49ers.2013 season
In the 2013 season, Bryant appeared in all 16 games of the Falcons' 4–12 season. One highlight in the season for Bryant was in Week 13 against the Buffalo Bills. He converted a 36-yard game winning field goal in overtime of the 34–31 victory. On the season, he converted all 39 extra point attempts and 24-of-27 field goal attempts.2014 season
In the 2014 season, Bryant appeared in all 16 games of the Falcons' 6–10 season.On September 7, 2014, in the season opener, Bryant became the fourth player in NFL history to kick a 50+yard field goal with less than a minute remaining in regulation to force overtime in addition to converting a 50+ game-winning field goal in a 37–34 overtime victory against the New Orleans Saints at the Georgia Dome. In recognition of his performance, he was named as the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week for the sixth time in his career. On September 18, in a 56–14 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday Night Football, he converted a career-high eight extra points on eight attempts in Week 3. On November 9, in the other divisional game against the Buccaneers in Week 10, Bryant was four-for-four on field goals. He also made two extra points which pushed him over the 600 point mark, making him the second player in Atlanta Falcon history to reach 600 points. On November 16, in Week 11 against the Carolina Panthers, Bryant was four-of-four on field goals again. This marked the tenth time in his career that he made four field goals in a single game. On November 30, against the Arizona Cardinals, Bryant connected on a career-high five field goals on five attempts in Week 13. Along with two extra points in the game, he had a career-high 17 points scored.
On the season, he converted all 40 extra point attempts and 29-of-32 field goal attempts. In recognition of his successful 2014 season, Bryant was named to Pro Football Focus's First-team.