Football

After unlikely journey to NFL, Lions kicker Jake Bates seeks to 'spread the love of Jesus'

By Kevin Mercer Nov 26, 2024
Detroit Lions kicker Jake Bates, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Everything seems to be clicking for the 2024 Detroit Lions, who are 10-1 and a game ahead of the Philadelphia Eagles and Minnesota Vikings atop the NFC standings. The Lions have now won 10 or more games in back-to-back seasons for the first time ever, and their red-hot start ties the 1934 squad for the best in franchise history.

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Among the numerous players on this year’s team having spectacular seasons is kicker Jake Bates, a 25-year-old in his first year in the NFL after having played in the UFL this past spring. Perhaps his most noteworthy moment of the season came Nov. 10. That night, following a clutch 58-yard field goal just minutes earlier, his 52-yarder as time expired capped Detroit’s incredible comeback from down 23-7 on the road against his hometown Houston Texans, giving the Lions a 26-23 win.

In a nationally-televised on-field interview with NBC moments after his game-winning kick, he made sure to praise God.

“I think it just shows how good the Lord is,” Bates said. “He’s so faithful. Man, my story is, if anything, I just hope people can see Jesus through my story. That’s what I think I’m here to do. It’s not make or miss or be a good kicker or bad kicker, but spread the love of Jesus. So hopefully I’m able to do that on the stage I’m given.”

After Sunday’s games, Bates is now a perfect 16-for-16 on field goals this year (including 5-for-5 from 50 or more yards), and he’s the only kicker in the NFL with no misses in more than eight attempts. He also leads the league in extra points made (42) and has only missed one all season. In Week 1, his 32-yarder against the Rams with 17 seconds left sent the game to overtime, where the Lions eventually won. And in Week 7, his 44-yarder with 15 seconds left gave Detroit a 31-29 win over the Vikings.

Pretty impressive for a player whose college coaches didn’t think was good enough to be their starting kicker. Indeed, Bates’ journey to NFL prominence has been anything but ordinary.

He began his collegiate career not as a football player but as a soccer player, playing for two years at Central Arkansas. But the allure of football became too strong. He transferred back to his home state in 2020 and joined the Texas State Bobcats, but once there, he was only given kickoff duties.

He didn’t hang his head about his limited opportunities; rather he sought to excel in the role he was given, and he did just that. His booming kickoffs caught the attention of Arkansas’ coaching staff, and in 2022, he jumped to the SEC. He exclusively handled kickoffs with the Razorbacks as well.

After going undrafted in 2023, Bates signed with the Houston Texans in the offseason, but was released after two weeks. With the door to a spot on an NFL roster seemingly shut, Bates began to build his post-football life and secured a job as a brick-seller in Texas.

“I thought the dream was dead. … I thought football was done,” Bates told MLive.com in October. “So I had to move on and do something else with my life. Luckily, the Lord had something else in store.”

Soon enough, the United Football League (UFL) came calling, Bates signed with the Michigan Panthers in December 2023, and he would finally get to kick field goals. The UFL season began in March, and in his very first game, in his very first official field goal attempt since high school, Bates nailed a 64-yard game-winner, the longest kick in UFL history.

In an on-field interview — this time with FOX — moments after his game-winner, Bates pointed the national television audience to the Savior of the world. Sound familiar?

“Nothing’s impossible [with] God,” Bates said. “He is risen. Easter weekend, man. It’s a really special feeling.”

And the best part is that his UFL game-winner happened on Detroit’s Ford Field, the same field he now calls home on Sundays.

Bates’ kicking abilities with the Michigan Panthers caught the attention of the NFL’s Lions, who signed him to compete with starting kicker Michael Badgley this year. So when Badgley suffered a season-ending hamstring injury in July, Bates was the guy.

Now, his team is one of the best in the NFL and preparing to make a deep run in the playoffs. Bates, however, is trying not to let the moment get too big for him. He keeps an eternal perspective by staying grounded in constant prayer and in his favorite Bible verse, Hebrews 12:1:

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”

As is Thanksgiving tradition, Detroit plays next on Thursday. Bates and the Lions will host the divisional-rival Chicago Bears (4-7) and seek to extend their one-game lead in the NFC North. Kickoff is set for 12:30 p.m. ET.

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