There is only one punter in the NFL Hall of Fame. Some players have filled the role, such as Sammy Baugh, who led the NFL in punting average for five seasons in the 1940s. But of course, Baugh was primarily a quarterback. The only dedicated punter in the Hall is Ray Guy, who played for the Raiders in the ’70s and ‘80s.
There are two main reasons for the low number. First, though there are plenty of stats related to punting, it is very difficult to gauge a punter’s effectiveness based on stats alone. Plenty of punters have blown Guy’s numbers out of the water, including the player who picked up his mantle with the Raiders 15 years after Guy retired.
Shane Lechler is arguably the greatest punter who has ever worn cleats, with statistics that are much better than Guy's. But his name is never mentioned when HOF snubs are discussed.
Seattle Seahawks' Michael Dickson is among the best of all time at a position few seem to notice
That’s because of the other reason: only one punter is in the Hall. A lot of football people barely consider punters to be real football players. The same prejudice applies to placekickers, but at least they score points and occasionally win or lose games. They have slightly better representation in the Hall of Fame.
Given that reality, Seattle Seahawks punter Michael Dickson is probably never getting into the Hall of Fame. But that doesn’t mean he isn’t one of the best the league has ever seen.
Dickson’s quality isn’t exactly a secret. Based on his yearly salary, he is currently the second-highest-paid punter in the league, earning more than four million dollars per season. Teams might spend that on a backup offensive lineman, but Dickson holds the record for the highest total-value contract ever given to a punter.
And his quality was once again confirmed by a recent Pro Football Focus story (subscription required), which noted that the grade Dickson achieved in 2024 was the highest ever awarded to a punter by PFF analysts.
There are plenty of reasons why stats are useless when evaluating a punter. The main one is this. Punters are not always trying to kick the ball as far as they can. Punting is highly situational. At times, a punter may sacrifice measurable results such as distance or hang time to pin an opponent deep. Or he may punt to neutralize an opponent’s dangerous returner.
Good punters create hidden yardage that can effect games without ever being obvious.
Dickson is among the league's best, and arguably in the conversation for best ever, because he checks every box. Do you need a big leg to simply bomb the ball out of danger when you are deep in your own territory? Dickson’s 48.3 punting average trails all-time leader A.J. Cole by just two-tenths of a yard.
Need more efficient punting to play a field position game? Dickson has always been known for his hang time and his accurate directional punting. His career 42.9 net yards per punt is harder to place historically since that is a much more recent stat.
Suffice to say that what Michael Dickson has done over the course of his eight-year career would place him in the top ten in the league in most any season. He does that year in and year out.
Cole, the newest of the great Raiders’ punters, was a first-team All-Pro in 2021 and 2023. In 445 career punts, he has suffered just four blocks.
Michael Dickson has had one punt blocked – during his rookie season – in 556 career kicks. And that is just the regular season. If we look at the playoffs, his numbers are even better.
None of Dickson's 41 playoff punts have been blocked either. What’s more, in his three playoff games last season, he averaged 49.6 yards per punt (an all-time playoff record), put ten of 15 kicks inside the 20-yard line, and had zero touchbacks. It was a virtually perfect performance for a punter.
Dickson was recognized for his regular season achievements with a Second-Team All-Pro selection. He was First-Team as a rookie in 2018, but had not heard his name called again until last year. The odd thing is that, as I said earlier, PFF graded his 2024 performance as the best ever by a punter, but no year-end awards came in ’24.
It’s just another sign of how inexact a science evaluating punters can be. Fortunately for the 12, fans don’t have to do any evaluating. They have seen Dickson perform week in and week out for eight years, and they know they are watching one of the best there is.
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