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Matt Araiza

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Matt Araiza
No. 14 – Kansas City Chiefs
Position:Punter
Personal information
Born: (2000-05-16) May 16, 2000 (age 24)
San Diego, California, U.S.
Height:6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:200 lb (91 kg)
Career information
High school:Rancho Bernardo
(San Diego, California)
College:San Diego State (2018–2021)
NFL draft:2022 / round: 6 / pick: 180
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of Week 9, 2024
Punts:22
Punting yards:1,100
Average punt:50.0
Inside 20:10
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Matthew Ryan Araiza (born May 16, 2000) is an American professional football punter for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the San Diego State Aztecs, setting the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) season record for average punt yardage as a junior. Araiza entered the National Football League (NFL) as a sixth-round selection by the Buffalo Bills in the 2022 NFL draft, but he was released prior to the 2022 season after being accused in a lawsuit of gang rape. The San Diego County District Attorney declined to press criminal charges.

Early life

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Araiza grew up in San Diego, California, and attended Rancho Bernardo High School, where he played football and soccer, and was a hurdler on the track and field team.[1] He made 37 field goals and was a two-time All-America selection as a placekicker.[2] Araiza committed to play college football at San Diego State University (SDSU) over offers from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the University of Montana.[3]

College career

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At SDSU, Araiza was redshirted his true freshman season for the Aztecs. He served as the backup to All-Mountain West Conference kicker John Baron II.[4] Araiza became the team's placekicker as a redshirt freshman and made a school-record 22 field goals on 26 attempts and was named honorable mention All-Mountain West.[5] Araiza made 10 of 14 field goal attempts in SDSU's COVID-19-shortened 2020 season and was named honorable mention All-Mountain West for a second straight season. He assumed punting duties during the team's opening game against UNLV and averaged 49.8 yards on five punts.[6]

In 2021, Araiza was named first-string punter in addition to his kicking duties going into his redshirt junior season and was named a midseason All-American by ESPN at the position.[7][8] He finished the season averaging 51.19 yards per punt, breaking the NCAA record set by Texas A&M's Braden Mann in 2018 (50.98) and earning himself the nickname "Punt God" from fans.[9][10] Araiza has stated that he does not "necessarily love the nickname", though he recognized it as a "huge compliment".[11] Araiza won the Ray Guy Award as the top punter in the nation,[12] and he became the second player in Aztecs history to be named a unanimous All-American.[13] Following the end of the season, Araiza announced that he would be foregoing his final season of eligibility to enter the 2022 NFL draft.[14]

Professional career

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Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split Vertical jump Broad jump
6 ft 1+1⁄8 in
(1.86 m) 		200 lb
(91 kg) 		30+1⁄2 in
(0.77 m) 		9 in
(0.23 m)		 4.68 s 1.59 s 2.71 s 32.0 in
(0.81 m)		 10 ft 1 in
(3.07 m)
All values from NFL Combine[15][16]

Buffalo Bills

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The Buffalo Bills selected Araiza in the sixth round with the 180th overall pick of the 2022 NFL draft.[17] He was the third punter selected in the draft,[18] behind two others in the fourth round.[19] As a rookie, he was named the Bills' starting punter following the release of veteran Matt Haack.[20] Araiza did not dress for the Bills' final preseason game on August 26, 2022, one day after a lawsuit accusing him and two former SDSU teammates of rape became public.[21] He was released the next day, on August 27.[22][23] The Bills said they had become aware of the allegations against Araiza in July, after he was drafted.[19]

Kansas City Chiefs

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Araiza signed with the Kansas City Chiefs on February 22, 2024, after he had been dropped from the suit.[24]

Personal life

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Araiza is of Mexican descent through his father who was born in Mexico.[25][26] He has one older brother.[27]

Gang rape allegations

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In 2022, Araiza was named as a defendant in a civil case in which two SDSU teammates and he were accused of gang raping a then-17-year-old girl, who was under the age of consent in California, at an off-campus party in 2021.[23][13][28][29] Araiza has denied the allegations.[30][31] His lawyer described the allegations as "a money grab" from the accuser, while she stated that she reported the incident the day after the alleged rape, before she was aware of Araiza's background.[32]

The San Diego County District Attorney's Office did not file criminal charges against Araiza or the other two teammates, stating, "Ultimately, prosecutors determined it is clear the evidence does not support the filing of criminal charges and there is no path to a potential criminal conviction".[33] Prior to the announcement, the office met with the accuser and her attorney to discuss their decision to not press charges.[34] Based on a witness and other information, the district attorney's office stated that Araiza could not have been involved as he had "left the party at 12:30 [am]",[35][36] about 30 minutes before the first of about nine short videos of sex acts of the alleged encounter.[34] The accuser's lawyer said that the witness was a "buddy".[35] Araiza does not appear in the videos, each less than 10 seconds long.[34][35] According to the accuser's lawyer, police had the accuser make a pretext phone call to Araiza wherein he admitted that they had sex, which he said was consensual, claimed that the accuser lied to him about her age,[37][38] and said that he remained outside afterwards "for the rest of the party."[38] On July 28, 2023, Araiza filed a defamation lawsuit against his accuser.[39]

On December 12, 2023, Araiza and his accuser mutually agreed to drop their respective lawsuits against each other with neither party admitting any wrongdoing and no money changing hands. Araiza retained the right to sue his accuser's lawyer, Dan Gilleon,[40] after a one-year cooling off period, a favorable ruling for a potential malicious prosecution claim.[41] His accuser continued her case against the other defendants. In the summer of 2024, Araiza settled with Gilleon. Araiza said that "the settlement met my satisfaction"; the terms were not disclosed. "They made claims about me, and instead of caving to the demands and hiding those from the public, I decided to fight it in plain daylight and let all the facts come out", he said. Araiza stated that "if anything that was originally claimed had merit, I wouldn't have won at every turn."[41]

References

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  1. ^ Sherman, Rodger (October 29, 2021). "The Punter That Was Promised Has Arrived". The Ringer. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  2. ^ Maffei, John (November 8, 2017). "Rancho Bernardo kicker longs for a college try". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  3. ^ Monahan, Terry (December 27, 2017). "Record-setting RB kicker scores full ride to SDSU". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  4. ^ Kenney, Kirk (August 16, 2019). "Aztecs' new kicker Araiza among players to watch at Fan Fest scrimmage". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
  5. ^ Kenney, Kirk (December 21, 2019). "Aztecs football notebook: Kicker Matt Araiza sets SDSU single-season field goal record". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
  6. ^ Vannini, Chris (October 27, 2021). "San Diego State's Matt Araiza is going viral one 80-yard punt at a time, plus latest in conference realignment: G5 Drive". The Athletic. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
  7. ^ Miller, Bryce (October 12, 2021). "Column: Aztecs' NCAA punting leader Matt Araiza 'can get a ton better'". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
  8. ^ "Aztec Matt Araiza, Rancho Bernardo High Alum, Makes ESPN's Midseason All-America Team". Times of San Diego. October 17, 2021. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  9. ^ "Johnson leads San Diego State past UTSA 38-24 in Frisco Bowl". ESPN.com. AP. December 21, 2021. Retrieved December 22, 2021.
  10. ^ Baer, Jack (April 30, 2022). "NFL draft: Man known as 'Punt God' doesn't seem happy he was 3rd punter taken". sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved August 30, 2022.
  11. ^ Maiorana, Sal (April 30, 2022). "Matt Araiza, the man they call 'Punt God' is coming to the Bills". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved November 2, 2024.
  12. ^ Kenney, Kirk (December 9, 2021). "Aztecs' Matt Araiza wins Ray Guy Award as nation's top punter". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved December 22, 2021.
  13. ^ a b Shalby, Colleen; Lopez, Robert J. (August 25, 2022). "NFL punter Matt Araiza and two San Diego State football players accused in gang-rape lawsuit". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 26, 2022.
  14. ^ Ugetti, Paolo (December 28, 2021). "San Diego State football record-setting punter Matt Araiza entering NFL draft". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
  15. ^ "Matt Araiza Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
  16. ^ "2022 Draft Scout Matt Araiza, San Diego State NFL Draft Scout College Football Profile". draftscout.com. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
  17. ^ Skurski, Jay (May 2, 2022). "In 'Punt God' Matt Araiza, Bills getting a promising prospect, but far from a finished product". The Buffalo News. Archived from the original on May 2, 2022. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  18. ^ "Buffalo Bills cut rookie punter Matt Araiza after gang rape allegation". The Guardian. Associated Press. August 27, 2022. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
  19. ^ a b Vrentas, Jenny; Belson, Ken; Rhim, Kris (May 10, 2023). "What to Know About the Allegations Against Matt Araiza". The New York Times. Retrieved May 15, 2023.
  20. ^ Patra, Kevin (August 22, 2022). "Bills rookie punter Matt Araiza wins job after release of Matt Haack". NFL.com. Retrieved February 15, 2023.
  21. ^ Winkley, Lindsay; Figueroa, Teri (August 27, 2022). "Buffalo Bills punter Araiza benched day after SDSU gang-rape lawsuit filed". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
  22. ^ "Bills release rookie punter Matt Araiza following gang rape allegation in civil lawsuit". NFL.com. August 27, 2022. Retrieved August 28, 2022.
  23. ^ a b "Bills release punter Matt Araiza". Bills Wire. USA Today. August 27, 2022. Retrieved August 28, 2022.
  24. ^ Teicher, Adam (February 22, 2024). "Chiefs sign Matt Araiza after punter dropped from lawsuit". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 2, 2024.
  25. ^ Uggetti, Paolo (November 10, 2021). "Why college football's must-see attraction is a punter from San Diego State". ESPN. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
  26. ^ Maffei, John (December 10, 2015). "Field goal record kicked up a notch". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  27. ^ Tiwari, Utkarsh (February 23, 2024). "Matt Araiza Parents: Meet Rico & Kerry Araiza Who Supported the New Chiefs Signing Through Thick and Thin". EssentiallySports. Retrieved November 2, 2024.
  28. ^ Shalby, Colleen; Lopez, Robert J. (August 26, 2022). "Diary describes alleged rape at the center of lawsuit against NFL punter Matt Araiza". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
  29. ^ Wawrow, John (August 26, 2022). "Bills' investigation of Araiza didn't include alleged victim". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
  30. ^ "Matt Araiza: Buffalo Bills release punter after rape allegation". BBC. August 28, 2022. Retrieved August 28, 2022.
  31. ^ "Matt Araiza releases statement addressing rape allegations". WKBW. August 27, 2022. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
  32. ^ Gore, Chris; Luciano, Lilia (August 30, 2022). "Teenager accusing Matt Araiza and 2 other former SDSU football players of rape speaks out; Araiza family issues statement". cbs8.com. Archived from the original on August 30, 2022. Retrieved August 30, 2022.
  33. ^ Winkley, Lyndsay; Figueroa, Teri (December 2022). "No charges filed in SDSU gang rape case, District Attorney's Office says". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved December 8, 2022.
  34. ^ a b c Figueroa, Teri; Winkley, Lydsay (April 26, 2023). "Recording details prosecutors' decision not to file criminal charges in SDSU rape case". The San Diego Union Tribune. Retrieved May 9, 2023.
  35. ^ a b c Wetzel, Dan (May 8, 2023). "Prosecutors: Former Bills punter Matt Araiza wasn't present during alleged gang rape". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved May 9, 2023.
  36. ^ Skurski, Jay (May 8, 2023). "Report: Prosecutors say ex-Bills punter Matt Araiza had left party before reported gang rape". The Buffalo News. Retrieved May 9, 2023.
  37. ^ Schrotenboer, Brent; Peter, Josh (May 11, 2023). "How Matt Araiza, former NFL punter, is trying to clear name after rape accusation". USA Today. Retrieved May 15, 2023.
  38. ^ a b Getzenberg, Alaina (May 9, 2023). "Witness says Matt Araiza wasn't present at time of alleged rape". ESPN. Retrieved May 15, 2023.
  39. ^ Figueroa, Teri (July 28, 2023). "Former SDSU punter Matt Araiza sues woman who accused him of rape". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved July 30, 2023.
  40. ^ Wetzel, Dan (December 12, 2023). "Civil suit dropped against former San Diego State 'Punt God' Matt Araiza". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
  41. ^ a b Figueroa, Teri (September 13, 2024). "NFL punter Matt Araiza settles with attorney in civil suit alleging rape". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
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