Matt Araiza Signs with Kansas City Chiefs, Marking Return to NFL After Rape Allegations Against Him Were Dropped

Mar. 15, 2025

Matt Araiza.Photo:Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Matt Araiza has signed with the Kansas City Chiefs, his sports agency announced. This marks the former Buffalo Bills punter’s return to the NFL after facing allegations of raping a 17-year-old girl in 2021.

In 2022, prosecutors for the casedecided not to press criminal chargesagainst the punter, while acivil lawsuit involving the sexual assault allegationswas dismissed in December 2023.

“We are proud to announce that our client @matt_araiza has signed with the @Chiefs. We are grateful to Brett Veach, coach Reid and the @Chiefs organization for giving Matt this opportunity,” JL Sportsposted on X (formerly Twitter).

Araiza, 23, has yet to play a game in the NFL.

The Buffalo Bills first selected Araiza, a former San Diego State punter, in the sixth round of the 2022 NFL Draft. But the team soon dropped him before the regular season began after the allegations surfaced.

Matt Araiza.Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

In August 2022, a woman filed acivil lawsuitagainst Araiza and two other men, alleging they raped her at an off-campus party when she was still a high school senior.

The lawsuit against Araiza stated that he “knew or should have known” the victim was a minor and that she appeared “heavily intoxicated” when the two engaged in a sexual encounter that night.

Araiza admitted to having sex with the girl but said it was consensual. “We had a brief encounter, and it is absolutely not how it’s been portrayed in the media or the lawsuit,” the punter toldUSA Today Sports.

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Matt Araiza.Joshua Bessex/Getty Images

Joshua Bessex/Getty Images

In December 2022, prosecutors decided thatthey would not press criminal chargesagainst Araiza after deputy district attorney Trisha Amador reviewed a video of the alleged assault.

Araiza’s accuser removed his name from a civil lawsuit filed against him and two of his former San Diego State teammates. The lawsuit was dismissed in December 2023. Araiza dropped a defamation lawsuit he had filed against his accuser.

In December, Araizaspoke to reportersafter the allegations were dropped, saying the experience had been a “rollercoaster” for him. “It has changed me a lot,” he said, and that the allegations “will be tied to me forever.”

source: people.com