In the strike-shortened 1982 season, Moseley made a league-leading 20 of 21 field goals, a then-record 95.2 success rate, and was responsible for 76 points. He became the second placekicker to ever win the Associated Press NFL Most Valuable Player, the other was Hall of Famer Lou Groza, who also won the award back in 1954 as a placekicker and as an offensive tackle (Mark Moseley was the first pure placekicker). Moseley had a much rougher time in the postseason, missing four field goals in Washington’s two postseason games. But in the Washington Redskins’ 27–17 victory in Super Bowl XVII over the Miami Dolphins, Moseley kicked two field goals and was successful on all three of his extra point attempts. During the following season, he led the NFL in scoring with 161 points. He also kicked the game-winning field goal in Washington’s 24-21 win over the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC championship game, despite missing four prior attempts in the game.

Moseley was selected 346th overall in the 14th round of the 1970 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles. He was dropped by the Eagles in 1971 and signed by the Houston Oilers only to be released again in 1972. He spent two years out of the NFL and moved back to Livingston, Texas where he installed septic systems. During this period, he sent letters to two dozen NFL teams and routinely practiced kicking with his wife. In 1974, the Washington Redskins signed him as a free agent.

Moseley is now the Director of Franchising for Five Guys. He has five children and 13 grandchildren. Moseley’s younger sister, Pamela Moseley Carpenter, was murdered by Johnny Paul Penry in 1979. Moseley was extremely critical of the criminal justice system after the murder, which had released Penry after he served only 2 years of a 5-year sentence for rape just months before the murder took place. Moseley also said he supported giving Penry the death penalty.

With the retirement of the Minnesota Vikings’ Rick Danmeier in 1982, Moseley became the sole full-time straight on placekicker in the National Football League; there has only been one other (Dirk Borgognone, who played two games in 1995) since then. In the 1960s, the “soccer style” of kicking (wherein the kicker approaches the ball at an angle and kicks it with the instep) was introduced by the Hungarian brothers Pete and Charlie Gogolak, and it became increasingly popular and is now universal in the NFL and other levels.

In 1986, the popular 38-year-old Moseley was released by the Washington Redskins mid-season. He remains their all-time leading scorer with 1,207 points. He signed with the Cleveland Browns and retired at the end of the season, helping them win their divisional playoff game against the New York Jets with a game-winning field goal in double overtime despite missing two field goals in regulation and another in the first overtime period.