Matt Prater belongs to the camp of American footballers in the National Football League (NFL) who began their careers as undercover free agents. He eventually registered his presence very strongly in the league and today ranks among the invaluable players of his team in particular and the league in general.
Matt Prater Biography (Age)
The football player was born on August 10, 1984 in Mayfield Heights, Ohio. He plays for the Detroit Lions in the NFL as a place kicker. Before Matt found his way into the league, he was a student at Cypress Lake High School but transferred to Estero High School in Estero, Florida during his sophomore year. He was part of the football team at Estero, and his strong play on the team earned him the All-State team, All-Conference team, and All-Southwest Florida. Before graduating in 2002, he was also included in the second team “Dream Team”.
Matt continued with his collegiate career when he entered the University of Central Florida (UCF) and played as both a placekicker and a punter. The first kick of his collegiate career heralded his uncommon leg strength when he hit a 53-yarder against Penn State.
During his sophomore year at school in 2003, the player got even better. Matt Prater led the nation in punting, setting both his school and MAC records at 47.9 yards per punt. Matt also excelled at placekicking, converting 10 of 13 field goal attempts and going 4-for-4 on attempts of 40 yards or longer. In the game against Virginia Tech on Aug. 31, he shot 6 times and had a 55.7-yard average (including punts from 71 and 67 yards).
In the 2004 college football season, Prater only played 9 games. He scored 11 straight goals in the game against the University of New York Buffalo Bulls football team, setting a record for the second-longest streak in school. However, a leg injury forced him to stay away from the game before the end of the season.
The talented footballer joined the NFL, however, in 2006 he was signed by the Detroit Lions on May 4th. The following year, on January 11, 2007, the Miami Dolphins signed a futures contract that was later won by fellow Placekicker Jay Feely. Consequently, the dolphins released him on August 27th.
Shortly thereafter, the Atlanta Falcons called and he signed on with the team. After a poor performance in the three games he played with the team, Matt Prater was disqualified from the tournament on September 18.
Two months later he was drafted into the practice squad of the Miami Dolphins and on December 19 he was removed from the practice squad by the Denver Broncos.
He eventually became the Broncos’ starting kicker in 2008 and was re-signed by the team on March 9, 2010 before being placed on injured reserves in December. Matt was re-signed by the team in 2011 and 2012 and played for them until 2014 when he returned to the Detroit Lions after signing a one-year contract.
On March 6, 2015, the Lions re-signed Matt Prater to a three-year, $9 million contract renewal. The contract was renewed again for three years on October 25, 2017.
His capital
The Lion’s placekicker has $25.45 million in career earnings spanning more than twelve seasons. His 2017 earnings of $5.23 million ranked 1st placekicker and 22nd overall in the NFL.
Matt Prater’s 2018 cap hit of $3.2M ranks 14th on the list of active Lions while his 2019 peak is $3.4M, including all roster and contract signing bonuses. He will also earn a $3.9M cap hit in 2020.
NFL players at the lowest level make between $400,000 and $600,000 annually, while the top players make at least $50 million. Looking at his financial stats, it can be said that Matt is somewhere in the middle and accordingly his net worth is estimated at $4 million.
Matt Prater’s family, Mrs
Matt is married to Kati Prater (Kati Rene Stark). The couple are said to have first met at an “ugly sweater party” over Christmas, and although they were both single at the time, they didn’t have any chemistry. They met again at Dierks Bentley and decided to get closer. On April 15, 2015, they finally tied the knot.
Their union was blessed with three children – Ava Jean Prater (daughter), Pax Wallace (son) and another baby girl, who the couple welcomed in July 2018.
Its Size and Other Facts
- The agile place kicker is 1.78 m tall and weighs 91 kg.
- He was suspended for the first four games of the 2014 NFL season after violating the league’s drug (in this case alcohol) abuse policy.
- Matt was sentenced to a DUI (driving under the influence) in 2011.
- He has played for four different teams since the beginning of his career.
- Voted Special Teams American Football Conference (AFC) Player of the Week – Week 5 (2008), Week 14 (2011), Week 4 (2012).
- He was also named AFC Special Teams Player of the Month – December (2011).
- National Football Conference (NFC) Special Teams Player of the Week – Week 9 (2016), Week 12 (2016), Week 13 (2016), Week 1 (2017).
- NFC Special Team Player of the Month – in November (2016) and September (2017).
- During a Reddit Ask Me Anything, Prater said he believes Hanson is the greatest-ever kicker in NFL history.
- Matt holds the record for the longest field goal in NFL history, a 64-yard kick in 2013.
- The NFL star also holds the record for most extra points (75) scored in a single season.