Kansas City Chiefs Kicker Harrison Butker: ‘I’m A Child of God’
By Movieguide® Contributor
From an undrafted free agent to one of the NFL’s top kickers, Harrison Butker has put his faith over fear throughout his career.
Butker played college football at Georgia Tech from 2013 to 2016 as the starting kicker for the Yellow Jackets.
The kicker entered the 2017 NFL Draft as an undrafted free agent, and the Carolina Panthers picked him up. But in September 2017, the Panthers let him go, and Butker was selected by the Kansas City Chiefs, where his career exploded.
Butker holds several Chiefs franchise records for kicking, including the longest field goal, and was part of Kansas City’s Super Bowl-winning team during the 2019, 2022 and 2023 seasons.
Despite his NFL success, the kicker boldly speaks about how he relies on God for everything.
“[God] is the most important thing,” he told SportsSpectrum before Super Bowl LVII. “If I didn’t have faith in God, I don’t think I’d be the father I am, the husband I am, the kicker I am. That kind of sets the tone for everything else and everything falls under that, but that gives me the strength to go do everything I need to do.”
He continued, “I may have fears about it — I might have pressure — but I know I’m a child of God, and He’s gonna protect me. And maybe that protection comes with some suffering, but that’s what’s best for me and I gotta accept that suffering and grow as best I can with that.”
The 2022-2023 season was not easy for Butker. He suffered an ankle injury during a week one game against the Arizona Cardinals. Later in the season, he re-injured his ankle and would only convert 18-24 of his field goal attempts.
In a press conference, Butker spoke about his struggles through the season.
“The temptation for me was just to be upset, kind of quit the process, just throw my hands up like, ‘I can’t do anything,’” he began. “But I just kept the faith. I want to give glory to God. I wouldn’t have been able to come in every day and attack every day with a smile, to be blessed, to be grateful to be in this position.”
He added, “… I always pray for God’s will to be done, so whether that’s a make or a miss, if I’m doing my absolute best to maximize the talents that He gave me, if it doesn’t go in, I’m gonna keep the process and keep going as much as I can until I’m not kicking footballs anymore.”
Lengthy but powerful quote here from Harrison Butker on trials he dealt with this season.
"I always pray for God's will to be done, whether that's a make or a miss. If I'm doing my absolute best to absolute best to maximize the talents he gave me… I'm gonna keep going." pic.twitter.com/ksNXwXdyS5
— Glenn Kinley (@glenn_kinley) February 3, 2023
The Chiefs would win Super Bowl LVII, where Butker scored eight of the team’s 38 points.
In the 2023-2024 preseason, the Chiefs are 2-1. The team will play the Detroit Lions on September 7 in their first regular season game.
Movieguide® previously reported a commencement speech Butker gave at his alma mater:
Butker started, “I am someone not much older than all of you, yet I’ve been asked to speak, not because I am a great orator or because I have a number of impressive accolades. Well, I guess I do have two Super Bowl rings. I just happen to be blessed by God to be really good at kicking a funny-shaped ball between two yellow posts.”
Butker touched on success and that “none of it will matter if you are alone and devoid of purpose.”
He continued, “Some of the most important people who have ever lived remain unknown and their stories have yet to be told. But they still used their God-given talents to do great things and change the world. What a profound example, to be motivated by our purpose rather than the current spotlight on the world.”
