Is Dean Janikowski related to Sebastian Janikowski? Are the football stars related?

Dean Janikowski is the starting placekicker for the Washington State Cougars, while Sebastian Janikowski was a legendary placekicker. Dean is a senior and has been with the Cougars since 2019. Meanwhile, his namesake Sebastian spent most of his career with the Oakland Raiders.

However, despite the similarities in their surnames, Dean and Sebastian Janikowski are not related. According to the Cougars website, Dean's parents are lecturers, Dan and Heather, while his siblings are Megan and Jack. There are no familial ties to former NFL kicker Sebastian Janikowski.

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Dean Janikowski is in his senior year with the Cougars

Dean Janikowski excelled at Cathedral Catholic High School, and his performances earned him offers from elite football programs. He chose to attend Washington State and was on campus for the 2019 season but failed to make an appearance in 2019 and 2020.

Janikowski had his breakout year in 2021 during his redshirt freshman year. He was named to the 2021 All-Pac-12 Conference First Team after going 14-of-17 on field goals, including a long of 41 and and 39-of-41 on extra points.

Dean Janikowski appeared in 12 games during his redshirt freshman season. He amassed a stat line of 11-of-14 on field goal attempts and went 40-of-41 on PAT. His 2023 redshirt junior season saw him end the year with a stat line of 10-15 on field goal attempts while going perfect on 44 PAT attempts.

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Sebastian Janikowski is an Oakland Raiders legend

Before the Raiders moved to Las Vegas, they were based in Oakland. One of the Raiders' biggest assets during that period was Sebastian Janikowski.

He was drafted with the 17th overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft. Janikowski is one of just five NFL player kickers to be picked in the first round of an NFL draft. The one-time Pro Bowler is the Raiders' all-time leading scorer and featured in more games with the program than any other player.

Sebastian retired from football on April 28, 2019, after amassing 1,799 career points. He left the game as the Raiders' all-time leading scorer.

Some of his records and accolades include but aren't limited to longest field goal in overtime, most field goals in one quarter, most field goals of 50+ yards in a career, most extra points in a Pro Bowl and longest field goal attempt

Raiders fans warmed up to Sebastian Janikowski as his career progressed, so it was a minor surprise when he decided to play for the Seattle Seahawks in the last season of his career.