Gostkowski played both college football and baseball for the University of Memphis. He is also a consistent and prolific scorer: he is only the second player in NFL history to score 500 points in his first four seasons in the league, and the first to score 1,000 points in his first eight seasons in the league. Gostkowski also holds the record for highest average points per game scored over a career, and is the first player since the AFL-NFL merger to lead the league in scoring in more than two consecutive seasons (2012–2015; he also led the league in scoring in 2008). In 2014, he became the Patriots' all-time leading scorer, surpassing Adam Vinatieri. He is the all-time leader in field goals in Patriots history and is the seventh-most accurate kicker in NFL history. He also holds the NFL record for consecutive extra points with 479 (523 including postseason).