NFL punter Matt Araiza and two San Diego State football players accused in gang raping a 17-year-old girl last year at an off-campus party.
Matt Araiza : Who drafted | News | Contract | Stats
Araiza grew up in San Diego, California and attended Rancho Bernardo High School, where he played football and was a hurdler on the track and field team.
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born: | May 16, 2000 San Diego, California |
| 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 |
He made 37 field goals and was a two-time All-America selection as a placekicker.
Araiza committed to play college football at San Diego State over offers from UMass and Montana.
Who drafted Matt Araiza
The NFL draft class of 2022 might be notable simply for making some fans argue about punters.
The drama revolved around one Matt Araiza, the San Diego State punter who became a viral legend in college thanks to his ability to produce punts nearly the length of the football field.
He won the 2021 Ray Guy Award for college football’s top punter after averaging a record 51.2 yards per punt and it seemed a foregone conclusion he’d be the first punter drafted.
And then the Baltimore Ravens drafted Penn State’s Jordan Stout. And then the Tampa Bay Buccaneers drafted Georgia’s Jake Camarda. Araiza was expected to hear his name called sometime during Day 2 of the draft, but he ended up having to wait until the sixth round for the Buffalo Bills to draft him.
News
Matt Araiza, the “Punt God” who led San Diego State to a record-setting season before being drafted by the Buffalo Bills, and two of his former Aztecs teammates, were accused in a civil lawsuit Thursday of gang-raping a teenager at an off-campus party last fall.
The lawsuit, filed in San Diego County Superior Court, accuses Araiza, Zavier Leonard and Nowlin “Pa’a” Ewaliko of gang-raping a then-17-year-old girl at a Halloween party at a home where Araiza had been living.
The plaintiff, now 18, is identified in the complaint as “Jane Doe” because she was underage at the time.
“This matter involves a pending criminal case currently under review by the Office of the District Attorney,” the letter read.
“While no suspects have been announced and no charges have been filed through that process to date, we will share an update with our campus community should that change.”
Matt araiza contract
Matt Araiza salary is $705,000, including a $54,037 signing bonus.
Current Contract
| Year | Age | Basic Salary | Sign Bonus |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 22 | $705,000 | $54,037 |
| 2023 | 23 | $870,000 | $54,037 |
| 2024 | 24 | $985,000 | $54,037 |
| 2025 | 25 | $1,100,000 | $54,037 |
Araiza’s spot on the roster is all but assured after the Bills released returning veteran Matt Haack in a series of roster cuts following a 42-15 preseason win over Denver on Saturday.
The decision to cut Haack was the most notable move in settling a position that was up for grabs since Buffalo used a sixth-round pick to draft the 21-year-old Araiza with the booming left leg out of San Diego State.
Stats
Araiza redshirted his true freshman season while serving as the backup to All-Mountain West Conference kicker John Baron II.
| Year | School | Conf | Class | Pos | G | XPM | XPA | XP% | FGM | FGA | FG% | Pts | Punts | Yds | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| *2019 | San Diego State | MWC | FR | K | 13 | 28 | 28 | 100.0 | 22 | 26 | 84.6 | 94 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2020 | San Diego State | MWC | SO | K | 8 | 23 | 24 | 95.8 | 10 | 14 | 71.4 | 53 | 5 | 249 | 49.8 |
| *2021 | San Diego State | MWC | JR | K | 14 | 45 | 45 | 100.0 | 18 | 28 | 64.3 | 99 | 79 | 4044 | 51.2 |
| 2022 | San Diego State | MWC | SR | K | |||||||||||
| Career | San Diego State | 96 | 97 | 99.0 | 50 | 68 | 73.5 | 246 | 84 | 4293 | 51.1 |
He 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.
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 also assumed punting duties during the team’s opening game against UNLV and averaged 49.8 yards on five punts.