From brick salesman to game-winner, the epic story of Lions rookie Jake Bates

MINNEAPOLIS -- Jake Bates began his college career as a soccer player. He eventually gave football a try, but never attempted a field goal at two stops. He got a shot with the Houston Texans anyway, big leg and all, but was cut early in training camp.

Then the phone didn’t ring.

He thought his football career was over. So he got a job.

“I was working as a brick salesman in Houston,” Bates said. “I thought the dream was dead. ... I thought football was done, so I had to move on and do something else with my life. Luckily, the Lord had something else in store.”

Boy, did He ever.

The Detroit Lions had fallen behind the Minnesota Vikings on a stunning fourth-quarter fumble by David Montgomery. But Jared Goff led the offense back the other way in the final moments, and Bates split the uprights on a 44-yard bomb with 15 seconds left that sent Detroit to a thrilling 31-29 win in an NFC North showdown on Sunday against the previously unbeaten Vikings.

What a game.

What a moment.

What a kick.

What a story.

“It was definitely loud,” Bates said. “The loudest environment I’ve ever kicked in. But at the end of the day, it’s doing the same job that I’ve prayed for for so long, and worked so hard for. And so if you let the moment get too big, it’s probably going to get too big for you. Kind of just told myself to stay calm, saying my favorite Bible verse, which is Hebrews 12:1, helps me stay calm as well. So just doing those things to keep my head in a good space, go out there and do my job.”

That Bates has job in the NFL at all is straight out of a made-for-TV movie.

He began his college career as a soccer player at Central Arkansas, then later tried out college football at Texas State in 2020 and Arkansas in 2022. But he was relegated to kickoff duties at both stops, and while he showed off a big enough leg to get a look with the Houston Texans two summers ago, he never had a shot of sticking and was cut early in camp.

So he began training to be a salesman at Acme Brick, a brick manufacturer and retailer located about 25 miles outside Downtown Houston.

“I couldn’t have dreamt of this,” Bates said of his NFL shot.

But he did get his NFL shot thanks to a sensational performance with the Michigan Panthers of the UFL last spring. He canned three attempts from beyond 60 yards -- something no Lions kicker has done even once -- and general manager Brad Holmes noticed the brick salesman with the huge leg.

Bates was offered a contract by the Lions after the UFL season. He was expected to learn the ropes behind Michael Badgley, who started for Detroit last season. But Badgley suffered a season-ending hamstring injury just days later, leaving Bates as the only kicker left in Detroit.

There were some tough days, and things got so bad during an intrasquad scrimmage that the Lions held kicker tryouts before joint practices with the New York Giants. But they decided to stick with Bates, and continued to stand behind him through some ups-and-downs in camp.

The leg strength is so special that the Lions decided to roll with Bates heading into the regular season, but begged for patience with the rookie kicker.

“He’s one of the most talented players I’ve been around at that position,” special teams coordinator Dave Fipp said. “I think all the guys on the other teams in the preseason watch him warm up and are like, ‘Oh my gosh, this guy’s incredible.’ So he has a tremendous upside, which if you’re going to invest in a player and take a chance, you definitely want to do it with a guy that can turn out to be a really good player for ya. I think we got to be patient with him.”

Fipp singled out the Vikings as a cautionary tale. Minnesota spent a fifth-round pick on Daniel Carlson in 2018, but cut him after he missed three of his first four attempts in the regular season that year. Carlson moved on to the Raiders, where he made 16 of 17 attempts the rest of the way, was named second-team All-Pro in 2021, then first-team All-Pro the year after that while setting the NFL record for most 50-yard field goals. Now he’s one of the best kickers in the league, while Minnesota burned through a draft pick.

“Minnesota maybe should haven’t given up on him so fast and just hung in there and been patient,” Fipp said.

As it turns out, Bates hasn’t required patience at all. He canned the first nine field-goal attempts of his career, then flew to Minnesota and watched his offense roll down the field in the final seconds of a one-point game. He recited his favorite Bible verse to keep calm: “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.”

Perseverance, huh? Fitting stuff.

Then the guy once training to be a brick salesman ran onto the field and piped a 44-yarder that sent the Lions to the top of the NFC North. He received a game ball in the locker room for his efforts, and still had it tucked under his arm as he made his way to the postgame interview room about a half-hour later.

“I think I have the best job in the entire world,” Bates said. “I wouldn’t change it for anything.”

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