What is 49ers kicker Robbie Gould's net worth? A look at NFL star's career and marriage as team decides his future
Robbie Gould has picked a bad time to have his worst performance of the 2020 season in his team's 20-12 win over the Arizona Cardinals on Saturday, but hopefully, the San Francisco 49ers won’t be holding it against him when they make a decision on his future. Although they are upset that the Cardinals did not get the kind of quality performance they’re used to from the kicker on December 26.
Gould missed three of his four kicks in the contest: a 41-yard field goal wide right, an extra point wide right, and a 37-yard field goal wide left. His misses kept the Cardinals within one score on their final drive, leaving the game in doubt until the 49ers defense shut the door with 20 seconds to play. Gould had been having a strong year to that point, connecting on 34 of 35 extra points and 19 of 21 field goals with his lone misses coming on attempts of more than 50 yards.
Gould, 38, is currently in year two of a four-year, $19M deal he signed with the 49ers in 2019, but the final two years of his contract are option years. The 49ers must make a decision on those options before their season finale against the Seattle Seahawks on January 3, and if they decide to keep Gould around, $2.25M of the $4.5 million in Gould's 2021 salary will become guaranteed.
49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said the team will look at the full picture of his game rather than just a day's performance. Shanahan said, "He's had an unbelievable year this year. Yeah it was tough on those situations, and Robbie will be harder on himself than anyone, but no. He's played too much football in his career and he's played too much football for us to let one game decide who he is."
Robbie Gould's early life
National Football League (NFL) player Robert Paul Gould III (also known as Robbie Gould) was born on December 6, 1982, in Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania. His father, Robert Gould was a three-time All-American soccer player who led Lock Haven University to a Division II national championship in 1980 and was drafted by the soccer team St Louis Steamers in the early 1980s.
Like his father, Robbie was originally interested in professional soccer, he eventually chose football and asked his high school principal to send a letter of recommendation to Penn State head football coach Joe Paterno, who invited him to try out as a freshman walk-on. A walk-on, in American college athletics, is when an athlete becomes part of a team without being recruited beforehand or awarded an athletic scholarship. “A walk-on to the football team his freshman year, Robbie worked diligently to earn a scholarship that began his sophomore season,” says his professional website.
After getting selected, Gould enrolled in Penn State University, where he played for the Penn State Nittany Lions football team. In four years with the Nittany Lions, he converted 115-of-121 extra point attempts and 39-of-61 field goal attempts.
After college, Gould went undrafted in the 2005 NFL Draft. The defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots eventually signed Gould prior to the 2005 NFL preseason even though they had already established Super Bowl-winning kicker Adam Vinatieri. Following his expected preseason release from the Patriots, Gould signed with the Baltimore Ravens only to be waived three weeks later.
“Disappointed yet still determined, Robbie returned to Lock Haven, Pennsylvania and began working a 9-5 job at a local construction company. It was in the fall of 2005 when Robbie received a call from the Chicago Bears (having hung up on them twice because he thought it was a prank) inviting him to hop on a plane to Chicago to tryout for their team,” says his official website.
“During his 11 seasons as a Chicago Bear he became one of the most accurate kickers in NFL history ranking 5th all time in field goal percentage. All-Pro Kicker Robbie Gould is the only kicker in franchise history to be selected to the Pro Bowl. He is the first player in franchise history to record 100 or more points in six straight seasons. He had 11 career game winning field goals and occupies the top seven highest single season field goal percentages in team history. He was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week four times and a two time NFC Special Teams Player of the Month. A 2015 Ed Block Courage award recipient, which is voted on by his teammates for a player who exemplifies commitments to the principles of sportsmanship and courage.”
Who is Gould married to and what is his net worth?
Gould is married to Lauren Gould and has a net worth of $22M. He explained to ADrinkWith.com in 2012 that he met the woman who would become his wife and mother of his future children at a bar in Chicago. Lauren Cozzi was his waitress. “I was out with a bunch of my buddies and she was my waitress and serving us drinks and stuff and there were some girls that were being a little obnoxious and she stepped in and acted like she was my girlfriend and I thought it was the coolest thing in the world. I asked her to go on a date and she didn’t want to go on a date with me and so I called and said, ‘Hey, let me take you to dinner.’ I took her to Joe’s Stone Crab and then we went for a drink at Hub51.”
They got married on February 13, 2013. They have three children — Griffin, 6, Grayson, and Gavin, who was born in 2018. Gould has wasted no time teaching football to his three adorable boys.