Josh Bartel (born 23 April 1985) is a professional

Canadian football Canadian football () is a team sport, sport played in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's sco ...

punter who is currently a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

. He has played for the

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Tim Hortons Fiel ...

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 1 ...

, and

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions played their first season ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

(CFL). Before going to the CFL, Bartel played

Australian Rules Football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

for the

Wodonga Football Club The Wodonga Football Netball Club, nicknamed the ''Bulldogs'', is an Australian rules football and netball club based in the city of Wodonga, Victoria (Australia), Victoria. History Wodonga's first recorded match was against the Albury Footb ...

Australian Rules Football career

In June 2010, Bartel quit Wodonga to pursue a gridiron football career in North America.

Professional career

Bartel joined the

of the

in 2012 after leaving Australia and failing to make a

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

team. Under rules in place at the time, Bartel was considered a "non-import" player because he received his football training in Canada. The rules changed after 31 May 2014, but Bartel was grandfathered in as a "National Player". In 2012, his first season in the CFL, Bartel punted for 4,985 yards on 116 punts, an average of 43.0 yards per punt, and was named an East Division All-Star. In 2013, Bartel punted for 4,897 yards on 112 punts, bringing his average up to 43.7 yards per punt. Bartel was again named an East Division All-Star in 2013. On 17 February 2014, Bartel was traded to the

. The 2014 season saw him punt for 4,616 yards on 106 punts, an average of 43.5 yards per punt. He returned to Australia for the 2015 season, but on 21 January 2016, the Saskatchewan Roughriders announced that Bartel had signed a contract to play for the 2016 season. He punted 134 times for 6,046 yards, an average of 45.1 yards per punt. On 1 March 2017, Bartel signed a contract extension with the Roughriders that carried through the 2019 CFL season. However, following the signing of

Jon Ryan Jonathan Robert Ryan (born November 26, 1981) is a retired Canadian professional football punter. He played college football for the University of Regina Rams, and began his professional career with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (CFL) after being ...

, Bartel was released on 14 May 2019. On 8 July 2019, it was announced that Bartel had signed with the

Personal life

In Australia, Bartel had a job lined up selling car tires but instead came to Canada to punt in the CFL. Bartel's cousin, Jimmy, played for the

Geelong Cats The Geelong Football Club, nicknamed the Cats, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Geelong, Victoria, Australia. The club competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition, and are the 2 ...

in the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...

from 2002 to 2016

References

External links

BC Lions bioSaskatchewan Roughriders bio

CBC ProfileCFL Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bartel, Josh 1985 births Living people American football placekickers American football punters Australian emigrants to Canada Australian expatriate sportspeople in Canada Australian players of Canadian football BC Lions players Canadian football placekickers Canadian football punters Hamilton Tiger-Cats players People from Wodonga Saskatchewan Roughriders players Sportsmen from Victoria (Australia) Wodonga Football Club players