Harry Kane to the NFL? Cowboys' Brandon Aubrey says England World Cup star has the talent'
Kane's long-standing love of football resurfaced as he experienced an NFL venue during the World Cup in the United States
With the World Cup underway in the United States, England star Harry Kane is getting a taste of playing in an NFL stadium, which is fitting. Because Kane already admitted that he would like to try to play in the NFL at some point.
There aren't many athletes to successfully make the jump from professional soccer to the NFL, but if anyone can pull it off, it might be Kane.
The English soccer star has already gotten a small taste of the NFL: With England set to play against Ghana at Boston Stadium on Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET, he got to meet Pat Patriot before the match (Kane is friends with Tom Brady and he's been a huge NFL fan for over a decade, so he was probably thrilled to jump in this photo with the Patriots mascot).
Welcome to the home of the Patriots, @HKane! Good luck the rest of the way in the @FIFAWorldCup ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/Cqx1NyF2vr
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) June 23, 2026
Welcome to the home of the Patriots, @HKane! Good luck the rest of the way in the @FIFAWorldCup ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/Cqx1NyF2vr
It's possible that Kane could go from playing soccer in the Patriots' stadium to playing an NFL game there. Three years ago, the soccer star mentioned that kicking in the NFL was something that he'd like to attempt at some point.
"I know it will be a lot of hard work. I'm not expecting to just rock up and start kicking field goals. It would be a lot of practice," Kane said in 2023, via Fox Sports. "The NFL is something I've been following for about 10 years now. I love it, so I would love to give it a go."
One athlete who has made the jump from professional soccer to the NFL is Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey, and he thinks Kane has the talent to do the same.
"He's a fantastic striker of the ball, so that'll age gracefully as a kicker, and he has the talent if he wanted to do that," Aubrey said in a recent interview with Talk Sport.
If you kick a soccer ball well, that doesn't automatically translate to kicking a football well, but Aubrey thinks that Kane would be able to pull it off.
"If you strike a soccer ball a million times, it's going to translate to striking a football," Aubrey said recently, via The Athletic. "You have got to figure out where to hit the football and how to shape your foot. The mental aspect of taking a set piece or a penalty is very similar to taking a field goal."
Kane has already proven that he can kick a football. During a 2017 visit to the Giants' practice facility, he hit a 50-yard field goal while wearing gym shoes.
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He looks like a natural, but he still has to hone his swing for football, as Aubrey did after finishing his soccer career.
The Cowboys kicker played soccer at Notre Dame, and after his college career ended, he became a first-round pick in the MLS Draft. When Aubrey started to realize that soccer might not work out, he made the jump to football. First, he joined the Birmingham Stallions of the USFL, then moved to the NFL. It was a long road for Aubrey, but it was worth it, because he's now arguably the best kicker in the league.
The big difference between Kane and Aubrey is that Kane has no reason to leave soccer. He's one of the best players in the world, and he proved that in England's World Cup opener when he scored two goals in a 4-2 win over Croatia.
The Bayern Munich star was asked if he still had any interest in being an NFL kicker, and well, it doesn't sound like he plans on leaving soccer anytime soon, during an interview in September with CBS Sports Golazo,
"It's something that's in the back of my mind," Kane said. "It's something that I'd like to explore at a future date, but I still feel like I have many more years ahead of me [in soccer]."
Kane is 32 years old, and right now, his age might be the biggest impediment to making it in the NFL, according to Aubrey.
"I have a feeling he'll be a little bit on the older side when he's done with soccer, and NFL teams don't like to see too old of kickers to start," Aubrey said.
The Cowboys kicker was 28 during his first NFL season, but it's a rarity to see a player make it in the NFL for the first time at that age.
The other thing working against Kane is that battling for an NFL kicking spot is a cutthroat competition.
"It's just there's only 32 jobs," Aubrey said. "So even if you have the ability, it's trying to get somebody to give you an opportunity. That's what took me the longest. I was training for three years before the USFL popped up. If that never happened, I would still be probably banging my head into the wall trying to get a job in the NFL."
The good news for Kane is that he's a global superstar, so if he shows any interest in playing in the NFL, there would likely be at least one team willing to give him a tryout. At that point, a special teams coach could tell him whether he has what it takes to make it in the NFL.
For now, though, Kane will only be focused on one thing and that's leading England to its first World Cup title in 60 years.
Harry Kane in the NFL? His latest U.S. stop reignites the idea
John Breech 4 min readHarry Kane in the NFL? His latest U.S. stop reignites the idea
