Former San Diego State punter Matt Araiza completed his delayed first NFL season Sunday by punting and holding for the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans.
Araiza punted six times for an average of 51.8 yards as the Chiefs lost to the Eagles 40-22.
This season, Araiza was 11th in punting in the NFL, averaging 48.8 yards and was 17th in net punting, averaging 41.8 yards.
In the 2022 NFL draft, Araiza was selected by the Buffalo Bills, but the team released him after he and other college teammates were accused in a lawsuit of raping a 17-year-old girl at a house party in 2021.
After a criminal investigation, however, prosecutors declined to file charges and found that Araiza was no longer at the party when the alleged rape took place.
In December 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, who later settled.
The Chiefs signed Araiza two months later on Feb. 22.
“So happy to be back doing what I love,” Araiza wrote on the social media platform X. “Only need one chance.”
The signing followed what general manager Brett Veach called “a long process.”
“We attack this like we do every player that we add on our roster,” Veach said at a news conference. “We go through the whole process with our entire intel and security team. I think when that came through there was pretty much a green light, and it was an opportunity for him.
“He probably should have been in the league maybe sooner than what he was. He had to go through that process … but as far as the information and our process there was no hold up there.”
Kansas City’s punter the previous four seasons, Tommy Townsend, signed as a free agent with the Houston Texans on March 15. The Chiefs signed former Brigham Young punter Ryan Rehkow as an undrafted free agent May 4 but cut him June 13, leaving Araiza as the lone punter on the roster.
During a media availability during training camp on Aug. 5, Araiza was asked if during the lawsuit he anticipated that he would have another opportunity to play in the NFL.
“There were times that I didn’t and there were times that I did,” Araiza said. “Honestly it kept going back and forth in my mind. Yeah, there was a lot of moments where I thought it was over. I’m incredibly grateful to be here.”
The Rancho Bernardo High School alum set three NCAA FBS records in 2021, his final season with the Aztecs – punt average (51.19 yards), 60-yard punts in a season with 18 and 50-yard punts with 39.
Araiza won the Ray Guy Award as college football’s most outstanding punter, the only San Diego State player to win a major postseason award. He was nicknamed “Punt God” because of viral videos and national coverage of his 70- and 80-yard punts.
