DETROIT – The Detroit Lions officially re-signed kicker Jake Bates on Wednesday. Bates, 27, returns to the club after being tendered as an exclusive rights free agent earlier this offseason.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed by the team. Bates set a franchise record for points in his first season with Detroit after previously playing in the UFL and working as a bricklayer.
Bates produced 51 points for the Michigan Panthers during the 2024 UFL season, the second-highest total in that league. He connected on 17-of-22 field goal attempts, including three successful kicks from over 60 yards. His longest conversion in the UFL was a 64-yard field goal.
Before his professional career, Bates played both football and soccer in college but served exclusively as a kickoff specialist. After graduating, he worked briefly as a bricklayer before signing with the Panthers. Since joining the Lions, he has led the NFL in both extra points attempted and extra points made over his first two seasons.
Bates converted 26-of-29 field goals during the 2024 season and set a franchise record for points in a debut year. He recorded seven games with 10 or more points that season, which tied for the second-most in NFL history by a kicker in his first year. This performance also tied for the second-most 10-point games in the league that season and ranks second in franchise history.
In clutch situations, Bates tied for the NFL lead in 2024 with four go-ahead or game-tying field goals in the final two minutes of regulation or overtime. During a Week 10 game against the Houston Texans on November 10, 2024, he became the first player in league history to kick a game-tying field goal of 55 or more yards and a game-winning field goal of 50 or more yards in the same fourth quarter.
Last year, bates finished 27-34 on field goals with a season long of 59 yards.