[4] As a student, he was a gymnast and a long jumper, and just missed becoming a member of the Danish junior national soccer team.

In his years with the Saints, he was named to six Pro Bowls, kicked 302 field goals, and scored 1318 points.

Andersen's kick has since been matched by Rob Bironas, Dan Carpenter and Greg Zuerlein, and surpassed by Sebastian Janikowski (twice), Jason Elam, Justin Tucker, Jay Feely, Matt Bryant, David Akers, Matt Prater, Jake Elliott, Graham Gano, Brett Maher, Brandon Aubrey and Stephen Gostkowski.

In December 1995 against the Saints, he became the first player in NFL history to kick three field goals of over 50 yards in a single game.

In Week 17 of the 1996 season, Andersen missed a 30-yard field goal that enabled the Jacksonville Jaguars to make the playoffs.

Anderson and Andersen have nearly identical last names, were born within a year of one another outside the United States (Anderson was born in South Africa), came to the United States as teenagers, were both drafted in 1982, had long and successful NFL careers throughout the 1980s and 1990s (and both retiring in the 2000s decade), and hold first or second place in a number of NFL records for scoring, field goals, and longevity.

[9] Although his leg strength had declined greatly with age, he continued to prove himself accurate for field goals.

In January 2006, Andersen was inducted as the first member of the Danish American Football Federation Hall of Fame.

In his second game back, Andersen made 5 of 5 field goals (matching his career-best for the ninth time), as well as both extra-point attempts.

[12] On 16 December 2006, Andersen passed Gary Anderson to become the all-time leading scorer in NFL history.

The following weekend, 24 December 2006, Andersen again passed Anderson to become the NFL's career leader in field goals made.

In the 2008 season, Andersen did not receive a contract offer from any team, but waited until 8 December to officially retire.