.jpg) Dickson with theSeattle Seahawks in 2018 | |||||||||||||
| No. 4 – Seattle Seahawks | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Positions | Punter,Holder | ||||||||||||
| Roster status | Active | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born | (1996-01-04)4 January 1996 (age 29) Sydney, New South Wales, Australia | ||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight | 208 lb (94 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school | Kirrawee (Sydney) | ||||||||||||
| College | Texas (2015–2017) | ||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 2018: 5th round, 149th overall pick | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics as of Week 12, 2025 | |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
Michael Dickson (born 4 January 1996) is an Australian professionalAmerican footballpunter andHolder for theSeattle Seahawks of theNational Football League (NFL). He playedcollege football for theTexas Longhorns and was selected by the Seahawks in the fifth round of the2018 NFL draft. Regarded as one of the best punters in the league, his career punt average (47.7 yards per punt at the time) at one point ranked as the highest in NFL history.[1][2]
Born in Sydney, Dickson first played soccer in his youth before switching toAustralian rules football at the age of 9.[3] In his first year of playing Australian rules football, he earned the Golden Boot award for having the best kicking. He excelled in Australian football while playing for theUniversity of New South Wales-Eastern Suburbs Bulldogs[4] in the localSydney AFL competition and was subsequently placed in theSydney Swans talent academy as a teenager.[5] He continued to play for UNSW-ES and the Swans reserves[6] in theNorth East Australian Football League in an attempt to be drafted to a professionalAFL team[7] but was overlooked at the2014 AFL draft.[8] Dickson's Australian football career highlight occurred when he was chosen to play for the Swans in the2014 NEAFL Grand Final.[9] The Swans were defeated by a two-point margin in the final.
In 2015, at the age of 19, he moved to Melbourne to trial with Prokick Australia, a coaching program designed to help aspiring kickers and punters cross the Pacific and crack American football.[10] Through his Prokick Australia experience, he was picked up by theUniversity of Texas as a punter by head coach Charlie Strong.[11]
In his first season with the Longhorns, Dickson had 77 punts for 3,179 net yards for a 41.3 average in 2015.[12]
In the 2016 season, Dickson had 65 punts for 3,079 net yards for a 47.4 average.[13]
In 2017, Dickson won theRay Guy Award and was aunanimous All-American.[14] He was named MVP of the2017 Texas Bowl.[15] In his junior season, Dickson had 84 punts for 3,984 net yards for a 47.4 average. In late December 2017, it was announced that Dickson would forgo his senior year at Texas in favor of the2018 NFL draft.[16][17]
| Year | School | Conf | Class | Pos | G | Punting | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Punts | Yds | Avg | ||||||
| 2015 | Texas | Big 12 | FR | P | 12 | 77 | 3,179 | 41.3 |
| 2016 | Texas | Big 12 | SO | P | 12 | 65 | 3,079 | 47.4 |
| 2017 | Texas | Big 12 | JR | P | 13 | 84 | 3,984 | 47.4 |
| Career | Texas | 37 | 226 | 10,242 | 45.3 | |||
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft2+3⁄8 in (1.89 m) | 208 lb (94 kg) | 31+1⁄4 in (0.79 m) | 9+1⁄4 in (0.23 m) | |||||||||
| All values fromNFL Combine[18] | ||||||||||||
Dickson was selected by theSeattle Seahawks in the fifth round, 149th overall, of the 2018 NFL draft.[19] Dickson would go on to win the punting job, after the Seahawks released longtime veteranJon Ryan during the preseason.[20]
Dickson made his NFL debut during the season opening 27–24 road loss to theDenver Broncos, punting six times for 354 net yards.[21] Dickson was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance in Week 8 against theDetroit Lions.[22] With minutes remaining at fourth-and-8 from their own three-yard line, Dickson was instructed to waste time in the end zone before giving up anintentional safety. Instead, after receiving the snap, he ran it nine yards for the first down, sealing the win.[23][24][25] The unscripted play was later dubbed "The Aussie Sweep."[26] Dickson was named the NFC Special Teams Player of the Month for November 2018.[27]
Dickson punted 78 times for 3,759 yards in the 2018 season. His average of 48.2 yards per punt ranked as the second-highest in the league.[28] In addition to punting, Dickson occasionally used the previously obscuredrop kick maneuver onkickoffs for the Seahawks, bothonside kicks and standard deep kicks.[29] For his efforts, Dickson was voted into the2019 Pro Bowl, the first rookie punter to participate sinceDale Hatcher in 1985.[30] Dickson was also named as a first-teamAll-Pro.[31] He was named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team.[32]
In the 2019 season, Dickson had 74 punts for 3,341 yards, an average of 45.2 yards per punt.[33]
In Week 2 of the 2020 season, against theNew England Patriots onSunday Night Football, Dickson punted four times (50-yard average) with all four of them landing inside the 20-yard line during the 35–30 victory. He was named the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week for the performance.[34] In Week 15 against theWashington Football Team, Dickson punted four times, all landing inside the 20-yard-line, earning another NFC Special Teams Player of the Week honor.[35] During the 2020 season, Dickson punted 61 times for 3,028 yards, with his punting average of 49.6 yards being the second-highest in the league, and the ninth highest single-season average of all time.[36]
Dickson signed a four-year, $14.5 million contract extension with the Seahawks on 4 June 2021.[37][38]
During Week 5 of the 2021 season, in a game against theLos Angeles Rams, Dickson initially had a punt blocked. He then chased down the football behind theline of scrimmage, picking it up with one hand, and punting it for a second time while on the run, reminiscent ofAustralian rules football. The punt would go for 68 yards, his longest of the season, and be downed on the Rams' 10-yard line.[39] The "double punt" received national attention due to its relative obscurity, and is considered one of the most memorablespecial teams plays of all time.[40][41][42]
Dickson punted the ball a career-high 83 times for 3,895 yards during the 2021 season, an average of 46.9 yards per punt. He pinned 40 punts inside the opponents' 20-yard line, the most in the league that season, and the 10th most in a single season in NFL history.[43][44]
In the 2022 season, Dickson punted 66 times for a 48.47 average.[45]
In the 2023 season, he punted 66 times with a 50.05 average.[46]
In the 2024 season, he punted 76 times for a 49.42 average.[47]
On June 10, 2025, Dickson agreed to a four-year, $16.2 million contract extension with the Seahawks, becoming the NFL's highest-paid punter.[48]
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | GP | Punting | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Punts | Yds | Avg | Lng | Blk | |||
| 2018 | SEA | 16 | 78 | 3,759 | 48.2 | 69 | 1 |
| 2019 | SEA | 16 | 74 | 3,341 | 45.1 | 63 | 0 |
| 2020 | SEA | 16 | 61 | 3,028 | 49.6 | 67 | 0 |
| 2021 | SEA | 17 | 83 | 3,895 | 46.9 | 68 | 0 |
| 2022 | SEA | 17 | 66 | 3,199 | 48.5 | 68 | 0 |
| 2023 | SEA | 17 | 66 | 3,303 | 50.0 | 73 | 0 |
| 2024 | SEA | 17 | 76 | 3,756 | 49.4 | 68 | 0 |
| Career | 116 | 504 | 24,281 | 48.2 | 73 | 1 | |
| Year | Team | GP | Punting | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Punts | Yds | Avg | Lng | Blk | |||
| 2018 | SEA | 1 | 7 | 360 | 51.4 | 60 | 0 |
| 2019 | SEA | 2 | 7 | 325 | 46,4 | 64 | 0 |
| 2020 | SEA | 1 | 8 | 446 | 55.8 | 71 | 0 |
| 2022 | SEA | 1 | 4 | 194 | 48.5 | 60 | 0 |
| Career | 5 | 26 | 1,325 | 51.0 | 71 | 0 | |
