Harrison Butker just did something the record book won't officially recognize but everyone watching absolutely will. Late in the second quarter of the Chiefs' preseason matchup with the Buccaneers, Kansas City sent Butker out for a 69-yard attempt, and he drilled it clean.
69 yard NUKE from Harrison Butker https://t.co/DwJjby566G
For context on just how absurd this is: the actual NFL regular-season record is 68 yards, set by Jaguars kicker Cam Little against the Raiders. Butker's kick would've topped it by a yard. Instead, since it came in preseason, it lands in the same bucket as Little's own 70-yarder from last summer's exhibition slate -- a legitimate, jaw-dropping kick that simply doesn't count toward the books.
It's also a massive leap for Butker personally. His career long entering the night was 62 yards, set against the Bills back in 2022. Going from a 62-yard best to nearly clearing 70 in one kick is the kind of jump that gets a kicker trending on a random Saturday in August.
“He’ll kick your Butker!” 69 Yarder from the Chiefs kicker!! https://t.co/mC6NEeKmlU
Mahomes being right there for the celebration says something too. Preseason games are mostly about evaluating depth-chart battles and keeping starters healthy, not moments that end up on NFL.com's can't-miss plays list. But a kick like this cuts through the exhibition-game noise, and having the franchise quarterback pop up to celebrate with his kicker only adds to it.
Naturally, the discourse followed. Some reactions treated it as pure spectacle -- a kicker doing something historically absurd. Others, per outside reporting, floated the idea that goal posts should be narrowed to keep leg strength like this in check. That's the same conversation that followed Little's actual record-setter, and it'll keep resurfacing every time a kicker starts flirting with 70 yards.
None of it changes what actually happened on the field, though. Preseason or not, Butker put a 69-yard field goal through the uprights, and the Chiefs now have real evidence their kicker's leg has another gear nobody knew about heading into the regular season.