Dan Bailey (born January 26, 1988) is an American former professional football player who was a placekicker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Oklahoma State Cowboys and signed with the Dallas Cowboys as an undrafted free agent in 2011. Bailey spent seven years in Dallas, where he became the franchise's all-time leader in field goals made. Bailey also played for the Minnesota Vikings.
Born in Oklahoma City, Bailey grew up in Mustang, Oklahoma, and attended Southwest Covenant School where he was an all-state, all-conference kicker and a first-team all-city punter (as selected by The Oklahoman), while playing eight-man football.
As a senior, Bailey had 51 touchbacks in 61 kickoffs. He holds the high school state records for longest field goal (50 yards), most field goals in a season (seven) and career (14). Bailey was also an individual state champion golfer. He graduated from Southwest Covenant in 2007 and was named valedictorian.
Bailey originally accepted to walk on at University of Arkansas, in order to receive an academic scholarship that would cover his tuition. After losing the competition for the starting kicker job, Bailey was approached by head coach Houston Nutt and was told that he would have to pay his own way, so Bailey would not count toward the team's scholarship limit. Forced to leave the school, he spent a year out of college before walking on at Oklahoma State University.
As a true freshman in 2007, Bailey made 20-of-20 extra point kicks but only two-of-four field goals. He made field goals from 27 and 28 yards and missed two attempts beyond 40 yards.
Until the 2008 Holiday Bowl, Bailey made 10 consecutive field goals in his second year (2008). With a 78.9% field goal conversion rate (15-for-19) on the season, he was second in the Big 12 Conference in field goal percentage. Bailey made a career-long 45-yarder in the 2008 Holiday Bowl, a 42-31 loss to Oregon.
Bailey made 46-of-46 extra point attempts and 13-of-18 field goals in 2009 as a junior. In the October 17 game, a 33–17 victory over Missouri, he made 4-of-4 field goals, including a career-long 51-yarder.
In 2010, Bailey made 24-of-28 field goals and 65-of-66 extra points, for an NCAA-leading 149 points. He won the Lou Groza Award for the nation's top kicker following the season. Bailey earned the Big 12 Special teams Player of the Year award. Oklahoma State won the December 2010 Alamo Bowl 36–10 over Arizona, and he made three of three field goals in that game: from 40, 50, and 44 yards.
Bailey was signed by the Dallas Cowboys as an undrafted free agent following the 2011 NFL draft on July 25. At one point during training camp, he had to compete with three other place kickers who included David Buehler, Shayne Graham and Dave Rayner. Bailey was named the team's kicker at the end of the preseason, with Buehler remaining on the roster as the kickoff specialist.
During a Week 2 27–24 road victory over the San Francisco 49ers, after missing a chip shot attempt in the first quarter, Bailey made a 48-yard field goal to send the game into overtime, and the eventual game-winner from 19 yards. In the next game against the Washington Redskins, Bailey tied a rookie record by converting six field goals, accounting for all of Dallas' points during the narrow 18–16 victory. This was the first time since 2001 that the Cowboys won a game without scoring a touchdown and the sixth time in franchise history. Bailey became the third rookie in NFL history to make six field goals in a game, following in the footsteps of Garo Yepremian, who converted six-of-eight attempts on November 13, 1966, for the Detroit Lions, and Jeff Reed, who made all six tries on December 1, 2002, for the Pittsburgh Steelers. This performance earned Bailey NFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors.
During a Week 11 27–24 overtime road victory over the Redskins, Bailey kicked his second game-winning field goal, a 39-yard kick in overtime. Two weeks later on the road against the Arizona Cardinals, he missed a potential game-winning 49-yard field goal. With the game tied 13–13, with six seconds left in the fourth quarter, Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett called a timeout before the snap, but Bailey's kick was good. Following the time-out, Bailey kicked the field goal short and to the left, leaving many Cowboys fans frustrated, convinced Garrett had just iced his own kicker. In overtime, the Cardinals won 19–13 on a touchdown by LaRod Stephens-Howling. In the next game against the New York Giants, Bailey's first attempt at a game-tying 47-yard field goal was interrupted when Giants coach Tom Coughlin called a time-out, effectively icing the kicker. Bailey's first kicked ball went through the uprights, but Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul blocked Bailey's kick after the Giants' timeout and the Cowboys lost by a score of 37–34.
Bailey had one of the best kicking seasons in franchise and league history by a rookie, making 32-of-37 (86.5%) field goals, second-highest kicking percentage for a rookie, setting a Cowboys rookie record for most field goals made in a game (6), tying Chris Boniol for the second-most consecutive field goals made (26) in club history, and was named to the Pro Football Writers Association All-Rookie team.
During a Week 3 16–10 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Bailey converted three field goals from distances of 32, 26, and 22-yards. His last field goal in the game put Dallas up 16–7, a two-possession lead with 2:47 left. Three weeks later, the Cowboys lost to the Baltimore Ravens by a score of 31–29 after Bailey missed a last-second, 51-yard field goal. With 32 seconds left, Tony Romo completed a four-yard touchdown pass to Dez Bryant, but because the following two-point conversion failed, Bailey had to make an onside kick. Dallas recovered the kick, but Bailey's 51-yard field goal attempt sailed wide right with six seconds remaining.
During a Week 7 19–14 road victory over the Carolina Panthers, Bailey kicked 28 and 38-yard field goals within the final four minutes. During a Week 11 23–20 overtime victory over the Cleveland Browns, he made the game tying 32-yard field goal with two seconds left in regulation and the winning 38-yard field goal in overtime. Three weeks later against the Cincinnati Bengals, the Cowboys were trailing 19–10 with 6:35 left but made a fourth quarter comeback, which consisted of a touchdown pass by Romo and a last-second 40-yard field goal by Bailey and the Cowboys narrowly won on the road by a score of 20–19. In the next game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Bailey hit a game-winning 21-yard field goal following a 36-yard interception return by Brandon Carr. The 27–24 overtime victory kept the Cowboys' postseason hopes alive.
Bailey finished his second professional season converting all 37 extra point attempts and 29 of 31 field goal attempts.
In 2013, Bailey set the franchise record for most field goals over 50 yards for a single season (6) and a career (11). He finished the season converting all 47 extra point attempts and 28 of 30 field goal attempts.
On January 23, 2014, Bailey and the Cowboys agreed on a new seven-year contract, which was reported to be worth $22.5 million with a $4 million signing bonus and a total of $6.6 million in guaranteed money.
During a Week 3 34–31 road victory over the St. Louis Rams, Bailey set a franchise record with his 28th consecutive field goal, making a 40-yard attempt in the third quarter. Two weeks later, Bailey missed a potential game-winning 53-yard field goal against the Houston Texans at the end of regulation, breaking a franchise record streak of 30 consecutive makes dating back to the previous season. However, Bailey kicked the game-winning 49-yard field goal in overtime giving the Cowboys a 20–17 victory. In the next game against the Seattle Seahawks, he became the most-accurate kicker in NFL history with a 42-yard made field goal in the second quarter of the eventual 30–23 road victory. Bailey has since dropped to 12th on the all-time list, on which the top six players are all currently active.