The reason? A moment in Las Vegas, in a game against the Raiders, in the ninth week of the 2025 NFL season.
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Jacksonville Jaguars kicker Little was called on just before halftime to kick a field goal from 68 yards, two yards longer than the NFL record set by Justin Tucker in 2021.
The kick was good. In just his second season as a professional in the league, Little had made history.
However, if we go back and trace the journey to that point, it may never have happened.
“I had no plans to play football. I was a football player through and through,” Little tells BBC Sport.
“One of my friends invited me to a soccer practice. Most of the time at my high school, the kicker was just a guy who was good at kicking a soccer ball and they would just make him go there for one practice a week and he would go play.
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“I didn’t even know how to put the pads on. I didn’t know what the rules of football were. I went out and the first practice I had, I just went out and kicked. I didn’t even kick.”
‘This is not for me…’ Why Little almost quit
Little would eventually play in junior college football games as a punter, before jumping to the college level.
This is where his story as an NFL kicker almost ended before it began…again.
“I get to make my first punt in the game,” Little explains. “They hit it on my head and hit me. And then two days after that, I’m like, ‘I’m fine. I’m done with football.’
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“I told my dad I wanted to quit, I told my coach and I said, ‘This is not for me. I’m going to continue playing soccer. I really don’t want to play soccer.’
“My dad told me, ‘I think you could really develop a knack for this.'” So I talked to my football coach and he said, ‘I agree with him.’ I don’t think it’s smart for you to quit.'”
Cam Little was selected in the sixth round of the 2024 NFL draft (Getty Images)
Little spent the next season studying film of NFL kickers like Tucker, the previous record holder, before playing for Arkansas in college and then being drafted by the Jaguars in the sixth round in 2024.
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“Everything happened very quickly,” he says. “I started hitting one good opportunity after another. I put myself in the right positions at the right time, took advantage of them when I needed to and here we are today.
“To go from someone who didn’t even think he was going to play professional sports, maybe not even college sports, to breaking a record that I never thought was going to be broken after Justin Tucker turned 66. I mean, it’s crazy to think about.
“I like to live with humility, thinking that I’m not going to take this opportunity for granted. This is something really cool. But I also think it makes me hungry to break more records. I want to break every record that this franchise has. I want to break every record that the NFL has. I want to come for everything.”
Coach Coen’s impact in Jacksonville
Executive vice president of football operations Tony Boselli (left) and head coach Liam Coen (right) were hired by the Jaguars ahead of the 2025 season (Getty Images).
In the final week of the regular season, the Jags clinched the division title for the third time in 26 years. They beat the Tennessee Titans 41-7 to lift the Houston Texans into first place in the AFC South.
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During that game, Little scored the first 67-yard field goal in the NFL. He now has the two longest field goals in league history.
Last season, they won just four games and hired a new head coach, Liam Coen, as well as former player Tony Boselli as executive vice president of football operations.
Under his direction, they won 13 games and reach the play-offs with a streak of eight consecutive victories.
“One thing Coach Coen insisted on is just going 1-0 every week,” Little says.
“Everyone is on the same page as far as the team captains, the guys who are leaders on the team, the front office, the head coach and the coaching staff.
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“When you combine those three levels of management, coaching staff, team captains and team leaders, that leads to success.
The Jaguars will now face the Buffalo Bills in the AFC wild card round on Sunday at 18:00 GMT.
For Little, it’s another special moment in his career.
“This is the first time in my career that I’ve played postseason football that matters: where you win or go home. So I think it creates a fun atmosphere, not only for us playing there, but for the fans as well. It brings a side to Jacksonville that I’m excited to see.”