SAEDNEWS: NFL kicker Matt Prater’s off-field troubles — including multiple DUI incidents and a four-game suspension in 2014 for violating the league’s substance-abuse policy — upended a standout career and cost him his job with the Denver Broncos.
Matt Prater, a Pro Bowl NFL kicker best known for a 64-yard game-winner and an elite long-range kicking track record, was suspended for the first four games of the 2014 regular season after the league determined he violated the NFL Policy and Program for Substances of Abuse. The punishment was alcohol-related and tied to earlier off-field incidents that included a DUI arrest in August 2011. The suspension, widely reported across national outlets, cost Prater significant salary and culminated in his release by the Denver Broncos in October 2014.
Prater’s off-field legal troubles were first widely reported in 2011. On Aug. 2, 2011, Greenwood Village (Colorado) police cited Prater on DUI and leaving the scene following a minor parking-lot accident outside a hotel; reporting at the time said the arrest involved a female passenger who was identified as a worker at a nearby strip club. Subsequent coverage placed Prater in the NFL’s alcohol program. Later reporting and team statements tied his 2014 suspension to his continued participation in that program and to a violation related to alcohol.
After the 2014 suspension, Prater publicly apologised and said he had “made mistakes,” vowed to address his behaviour and acknowledged the personal and professional cost of the suspension. The Broncos initially supported him publicly but released him on Oct. 3, 2014, shortly before the suspension ended — a move the team said reflected its decisions about roster composition and accountability. Prater later resumed his career with other teams, asserting he had learned from the episode.
The NFL’s substances-of-abuse program addresses alcohol among other substances and may place repeat offenders into monitoring and treatment, with escalating discipline for violations. Reporting by ESPN and NFL Media explained that Prater had been in the program since the 2011 arrest and that the league viewed the 2014 infraction seriously enough to impose a four-game ban. The NFL has in other cases sought longer suspensions for repeat alcohol-policy violations, making Prater’s penalty part of a wider pattern of the league enforcing behavioral standards off the field.
The suspension carried a direct financial penalty — reports put the lost salary in the neighborhood of hundreds of thousands of dollars — and reputational damage that made the Broncos decide to move on. Coverage at the time quantified the hit to Prater’s base pay and highlighted how quickly public controversies can shift team decisions, even for high-performing players. Prater’s release and the publicity around the incident became a defining chapter in what otherwise has been a record-setting kicking career.
After the Broncos released him, Prater landed with other NFL teams and ultimately rebuilt his on-field standing — notably setting records for long-distance field goals and continuing to play at a high level. Multiple reports noted Prater had been in rehabilitation during the period around his suspension and that he publicly committed to sobriety measures as part of his recovery and return to the league. His later success underscored both the fragility of public trust and the possibility of professional redemption when players address underlying problems.
Date | Event |
|---|---|
2008 | Reporting records a DUI incident in Orlando linked to Prater (media aggregate records). |
Aug 2, 2011 | Arrest in Greenwood Village, Colorado: cited for DUI and leaving the scene after a parking-lot crash; later entered NFL alcohol program. |
Aug 24–26, 2014 | NFL announces a four-game suspension for violating the substances-of-abuse policy (alcohol-related); Prater issues public apology. |
Oct 3, 2014 | Denver Broncos release Matt Prater days before his suspension was due to end. |
Post-2014 | Prater joins other NFL teams, serves rehabilitation requirements, and resumes a successful kicking career, including Pro Bowl nods and long-distance records. |
Prater’s case sits at the intersection of athlete behavior, public scrutiny and league discipline. The NFL’s policies aim to balance player welfare (treatment and rehabilitation) with competitive integrity and public image; teams also weigh on-field value against reputational and locker-room concerns. High-profile suspensions like Prater’s often spark broader conversations about access to treatment, consistency in league discipline, and the role franchises should play in supporting players off the field.
Contemporary coverage is consistent on the core facts: Prater had alcohol-related legal problems, entered the NFL’s alcohol program, was suspended in 2014 for violating the league’s policy, and was released by the Broncos. Where reporting varies is around personal details, mitigation steps and how teams factored behaviour into personnel decisions. This package focuses strictly on verified reporting and official statements.
