Brett Maher (American football)

Brett Maher (born November 21, 1989) is an American football punter and placekicker for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He was signed by the New York Jets as an undrafted free agent in 2013. He played college football at the University of Nebraska.

Early years
Maher attended Centennial Public Schools, in Utica, Nebraska, his first three years of high school before transferring to Kearney High School, where he played high school football for the Bearcats. As a senior, he made 8 of 14 field goals, 41 of 46 extra points, and averaged 41.2 yards per punt. He also played wide receiver, posting 775 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns. He received All-state honors from the Lincoln Journal Star and Omaha World-Herald at the end of the season.

In basketball, he was an honorable-mention Class A all-state pick as a senior. In track, he won the long jump and pole vault state championships as a senior, setting a state record in the latter.

College career
Maher turned down other football scholarship offers to walk-on at the University of Nebraska. As a redshirt freshman and as a sophomore, he appeared in all games as the holder for field goals and extra points, while also serving as the backup punter behind Alex Henery.

As a junior, he was named the starter at placekicker and punter after Henery graduated. He made 19-of-23 field goals, 43-of-44 extra points and averaged 41.38 yards per punt. He received Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week honors three times, while being named Eddleman-Fields Big Ten Punter of the Year and Bakken-Andersen Big Ten Kicker of the Year.

As a senior, the school awarded him with a football scholarship. He made 20 of 27 field goals, all of his 59 extra point attempts, 57 touchbacks out of 96 kickoffs, and averaged 41.8 yards per punt. His 20 field goals ranked second in school history for a season, and his 119 points set a record for most points scored by a kicker. He ranked third overall in conference in scoring and first among kickers. He received the Bakken-Andersen Big Ten Kicker-of-the-Year Award for the second straight year.

New York Jets
Maher was signed as an undrafted free agent by the New York Jets after the 2013 NFL Draft on May 12, earning the contract after a rookie tryout. He was waived on July 23, to make room for placekicker Billy Cundiff.

Dallas Cowboys
On August 11, 2013, Maher was signed by the Dallas Cowboys, to play in the preseason while Dan Bailey recovered from an injury. He was released two weeks later on August 27.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers
On May 1, 2014, Maher signed a contract with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played in two pre-season games for the Bombers before being released by the team due to the restrictions on the number of national and international players on the team's roster, keeping their Canadian incumbent (Lirim Hajrullahu).

Ottawa Redblacks
A few weeks after being released by Winnipeg he signed with the Ottawa Redblacks. In week four of the season, Maher was named the CFL's Special Teams Player of the Week after going 6-for-6 on field goals, scoring all the Redblacks' points in an 18-17 decision over the Toronto Argonauts. The win marked the expansion club's first-ever win. On May 13, 2015, he was released by the Redblacks, because of a hip injury he suffered in the prior month, before the start of training camp.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats
On May 19, 2016, Maher signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats following taking part in a team mini-camp. He completed 82% of his field goal attempts that season, going 41 for 50, and had a punt average of 45.9 yards.

Cleveland Browns
On March 20, 2017, Maher signed with the Cleveland Browns. On May 2, he was released after not being able to pass rookie Zane Gonzalez on the depth chart.

Ottawa Redblacks (second stint)
On June 10, 2017, Maher signed with the Ottawa Redblacks. He achieved the same completion percentage as the previous season in Hamilton (82%), recording the same amount of field goals (41) on 50 attempts. His punt average was 46.7 yards.

Dallas Cowboys (second stint)
On April 4, 2018, Maher signed with the Dallas Cowboys, to limit the off season workload of Dan Bailey. On September 1, the Cowboys in a surprise move released Bailey, making Maher the kicker for the Cowboys to start the 2018 season. In Week 4, Maher kicked four field goals, including a 38-yard game winner as time expired, in a 26-24 win over the Detroit Lions, earning him NFC Special Teams Player of the Week. On October 14 in a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Maher converted a 55-yard field goal which at the time was his career long and the second longest field goal in AT&T Stadium behind Dan Bailey's 56-yard field goal. On November 18, 2018 Maher kicked a 48 yard winning field goal to beat the Atlanta Falcons. On December 9, 2018, Maher kicked a new career long 62-yard field goal against the Philadelphia Eagles as time expired in the first half. That field goal is a franchise record for the Cowboys and tied for the third longest in NFL history. In Week 16, Maher converted two field goals and three extra points in a 27-20 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, earning him NFC Special Teams Player of the Week.