Western Knights, 2006–2008 Kerr first started playing football as a junior at
Western Knights in Mosman Park. After three years at the Western Knights, she trialled for the Western Australian State Team before moving to
Perth Glory. She was voted Players' Player at the
2009 W-League Awards and awarded Goal of the Year for her long–range goal against
Sydney FC in round 8. During the
2010–11 season, Kerr started in all 10 matches and scored three goals.
Western New York Flash, 2013–2014 In 2013, Kerr signed with the Western New York Flash. She made 19 starts in her 21 appearances for the club and scored six goals. the Flash lost 2–0 to
Portland in the final. Kerr returned to the Flash for the
2014 season. Head coach
Aaran Lines said of Kerr, "With her attributes – her speed, athleticism and instincts – if she continues to develop at the rate she is, Sam can become one of the best strikers in the world." Kerr started in all 20 matches and was the team's leading scorer with 9 goals. Following the 2014 season, Kerr was traded to
Sky Blue FC in exchange for
Elizabeth Eddy and a first-round pick—fourth overall—in the
2015 NWSL College Draft. The Flash used that pick to draft
Sam Mewis.
Return to Perth Glory, 2014–2019 In August 2014, Kerr returned to
Perth Glory on a one-year deal as one of six Matildas to sign for Perth. She would open her account in Perth's second match against
Adelaide United to give Perth the lead in the second half which they would win. The following match she scored a double in her team's 10–1 rout of
Western Sydney Wanderers. After missing out in the next four games, Kerr would go and score eight goals in the final four games of the regular season which included a hat-trick against her former team in
Sydney FC. She continued her regular season form in the
following season when she scored the winning goal in a 2–1 victory over
Melbourne Victory in the opening round of the competition. That would be the only goal that she would score in the season with her leg giving way in a non-contact ankle injury which forced her out for the rest of the season. This would not stop Perth from giving her a one-year contract extension before the start of that season. In the
2016–17 W-League season she scored ten goals, led the team to the
Grand Final, and earned the
Julie Dolan Medal and the Penny Tanner Media MVP Award. In October 2018, she became the first marquee player of the W-League when she was reportedly offered $400,000 contract to stay in Perth instead of going overseas where she was offered $100,000 less. The marquee signing delivered in the
2018–19 W-League season, when she finished top of the goal scoring charts with 17 goals at above a goal a game. This included a hat-trick in the semi-final against
Melbourne Victory which booked Perth's spot into the grand final.
Sky Blue FC, 2015–2017 In 2015, Kerr joined Matildas teammate
Caitlin Foord at
Sky Blue FC following their participation at the
FIFA World Cup in Canada. Kerr's six goals in her nine appearances ranked first on the team. In the 2017 season, Kerr set a new NWSL record when she scored 4 goals in a single game after being down 3–0 to
Seattle Reign at halftime. Sky Blue eventually won the match 5–4. At the age of 23, Kerr sat atop the all-time NWSL goalscoring table. Kerr won the
NWSL Golden Boot and
MVP award after finishing the 2017 season with a record-breaking 17 goals.
Chicago Red Stars, 2018–2019 match, 2018 On 18 January 2018, Kerr was traded to the
Chicago Red Stars along with
Nikki Stanton by the
Sky Blue FC in a three-team trade with the
Chicago Red Stars and
Houston Dash. She got off to a slow start in the
2018 season, not scoring until the eighth match of the season when she contributed to a 1–1 draw against
North Carolina Courage. In August, she was named as NWSL Player of the Month for the third time in her career as she scored five goals throughout the month of August which included two goals against
Portland Thorns FC and
Orlando Pride. At the end of the 2018 season, Kerr scored 16 goals and won the Golden Boot for the second consecutive season, leading to her becoming the first player to win the NWSL Golden Boot more than once, and was elected into the NWSL Best XI as a forward. At the end of the
2019 season, Kerr and the Chicago Red Stars made their first appearance in the
NWSL Championship, losing 4–0 to North Carolina Courage. Several days prior to the championship game, Kerr was named the 2019
NWSL MVP, the first, and currently only, NWSL player to ever receive the award twice. Kerr also received, for the third year in a row, the NWSL
Golden Boot, leading the league with 18 goals and five assists, despite missing some games over the summer to play with Australia in the
World Cup. At the end of the 2019 season Kerr announced that she was considering moving to a European team and had multiple offers.
Chelsea, 2020–present On 13 November 2019,
WSL club
Chelsea announced Kerr would be joining the club for the second half of the
2019–20 FA WSL season on a two-and-a-half-year contract. Kerr made her Chelsea debut against
Reading on 5 January 2020 and scored her first goal two weeks later against
Arsenal. She won her first trophy with Chelsea in their 2–1 win over Arsenal in the
League Cup Final. Chelsea went on to win the 2019–20 league title despite a curtailed season due to the
COVID-19 pandemic, based on points per match. At the
2020 Women's FA Community Shield on 29 August 2020, Kerr created a series of goal scoring opportunities before being substituted in Chelsea's 2–0 win over
Manchester City. She scored a hat-trick in the 6–0 win over
Bristol City in Chelsea's defence of the
League Cup title, and led goalscoring for Chelsea during the season, ultimately helping her win her second
Women's Super League title during the
2020–21 FA WSL season. She scored 21 goals in 22 games, winning the Golden Boot, making her the first player to win it in three different leagues. That same season, Kerr helped Chelsea reach the final of the
UEFA Women's Champions League for the first time, before being defeated by
Barcelona. During the
2021–22 WSL season, Kerr continued exhibiting fine form and was nominated for the Barclays Player of the Month for September. On 16 November 2021, Kerr signed a two-year contract extension, keeping her at the club until the end of the 2023–24 season, saying: "I can't see myself going anywhere else in the world or leaving Europe, having what I have at Chelsea." The following week, Kerr scored the winning goal in Chelsea's
Champions League group stage match against
Servette, and scored her third league hat-trick, against
Birmingham City, within 26 minutes, as well as providing the assist for team-mate
Fran Kirby's 100th Chelsea goal, with Kerr celebrating her achievement with her signature back-flip, the first time she performed it at Chelsea's homeground of
Kingsmeadow. On 5 December, Kerr scored a brace in the delayed
FA Cup final against Arsenal, winning Player of the Match, and helping her team lift the trophy and secure the domestic
quadruple of the 2020–21 season, the first English women's club to achieve the feat. Kerr ended the 2021 calendar year as the leading goalscorer in the WSL, with 23 goals, and was second in total assists with 10, behind Kirby. Upon returning to Chelsea after being eliminated in the
Asian Cup at the beginning of 2022, Kerr continued with a fine run of goal-scoring, scoring 10 goals in 7 consecutive matches, the first Chelsea player to do so. She scored the lone Chelsea goal in a 3–1 defeat at the hands of Manchester City in the League Cup final and in Chelsea's 0–9 record-breaking win against
Leicester City in the WSL on 27 March, Kerr scored a brace, repeating the feat the following week in a match against
Reading, the 5th consecutive WSL match she had scored in. On 24 April, in a league game against
Tottenham Hotspur, Kerr scored in her 6th consecutive WSL match, and in doing so, broke her own record set the previous season of scoring against the most opposing teams, by scoring against all opponents bar
Arsenal. In April 2022, Kerr was awarded the
FWA Women's Footballer of the Year, receiving 40% of the vote ahead of
Vivianne Miedema and
Lauren Hemp, and won the FA WSL April Player of the Month. Kerr ended the season with 32 goals (including 3 goals of the 2020–21 FA Cup held over the course of the 2021–22 season) and 9 assists across all competitions, winning the Women's Super League for the third consecutive time, and the
FA Women's Cup for the second consecutive time. After a formidable season in front of goal for the Blues, she was voted Chelsea Women's Player of the Year Kerr finished as top goal scorer, netting 32 times in all competitions. She retained the Golden Boot award for the second consecutive year, having scored 20 times in the 2021–22 season. The striker scored a number of important goals during the season, including a crucial 92nd-minute winner against
Aston Villa at Kingsmeadow in March 2022 to keep the Blues' title hopes alive. Kerr also scored twice as Chelsea beat Manchester United on the final day of the season, with her well-taken volley against the Red Devils being voted the Goal of the Season. She scored her first
UEFA Champions league hat-trick against
Paris FC on 23 November 2023. On 7 January 2024, Chelsea confirmed that Kerr had suffered an
anterior cruciate ligament injury (ACL injury) during a warm weather training camp in
Morocco and would miss the remainder of the season. On 13 June 2024, Kerr signed another two-year contract extension, keeping her at the club until 2026. On 6 December 2024, manager
Sonia Bompastor announced that Kerr would not return until 2025. On 13 March 2025, it was announced Kerr was to be included in Chelsea's upcoming Champions league squad, her first time to be included in a squad since her ACL injury, but did not play any minutes. Despite Bompastor's hopes that Kerr would return before the end of the
2024–25 season, the forward did not appear. She was training with the team during August 2025 ahead of the
2025–26 season opening. She made her return to the field against Aston Villa on 14 September 2025, 20 months after her ACL injury. She came on as a substitute in the 75th minute and then in the 93rd minute, scored her 100th goal for the club. On 26 April 2026, Kerr scored twice in a 4–1 win over
Everton, equalling Fran Kirby's record of goals scored for Chelsea in the WSL (63). ==International career==