Matt Bryant attended Bridge City High School, where he played both football and baseball. After high school, Bryant attended Trinity Valley Community College, where he was a two-time NJCAA All-American and a member of the 1994 national championship team. He then signed with Oregon State University, later transferring to Baylor, where he graduated ranked seventh in all-time scoring for placekickers. His 21 field goals placed him fifth in Bears’ history, and his career 42-for-42 extra points set the school record.

 

After graduation, Bryant went undrafted. He worked in a pawn shop and as a personal trainer before playing briefly with both the Arena Football League and NFL Europe.

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In 2002, he was signed as a free agent by the New York Giants. Bryant played one season with the Giants. After short stints with both the Indianapolis Colts and the Miami Dolphins, he was signed as a free agent by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2005. On October 22, 2006, Bryant successfully converted a 62-yard field goal as time expired in Tampa Bay’s 23-21 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles. At the time, the kick was the second-longest in NFL history.

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Bryant was signed to the Atlanta Falcons on December 1, 2009. On September 7, 2014, he became one of only four players in NFL history to kick a 50-plus-yard field goal with less than a minute remaining in regulation to force overtime. He surpassed 1,700 career points before concluding his playing career after the 2019 season, following 17 years in professional football.

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Matt Bryant and his wife, Melissa, established the Matthew Tryson Bryant Foundation in honor of their son to raise awareness for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). All proceeds from the foundation go to the March of Dimes. He was inducted into the Museum of the Gulf Coast Sports Legends Hall of Fame in 2009.