Justin Tucker of the Ravens, the most accurate kicker in NFL history, engaged in inappropriate behavior at four high-end spas and wellness centers, according to six massage therapists. Management at two of the spas said they banned Tucker.
Attorneys for Tucker denied the allegations, calling them “false” and “spurious,” and said Tucker had never been banned from the two spas in question.
A Ravens spokesman said, “We take any allegations of this nature seriously and will continue to monitor the situation.” The NFL said “it will look into the matter.”
Tucker released a lengthy statement after the story published denying the allegations and criticizing The Banner’s reporting process.
The Baltimore Banner thanks its sponsors. Become one.
“I have always made a conscious effort to be considerate and respectful in all of the interactions with the community that I love so much,” he said. “It is devastating for me to learn that anyone would feel I was offensive in any way.
Tucker has been with the Ravens for 13 seasons, including one of their two Super Bowl seasons. He has become one of the most recognizable players on the team, which is rare for a kicker, appearing in television commercials for companies including Royal Farms and the NFL itself.
Who is Tucker and how has he built his legacy in Baltimore?
Where is Justin Tucker from?
Tucker, 35, was born in Houston before moving to Austin, Texas, at an early age. He was a member of the football and soccer teams at Westlake High School. He played wide receiver, safety and placekicker, and ESPNU ranked him as the third-best high school kicker in the nation.
Tucker kicked at the University of Texas. As a freshman, he handled kickoffs and punted, but he did not kick field goals until his junior year.
The Baltimore Banner thanks its sponsors. Become one.
After four seasons with the Longhorns, Tucker was named second-team All-Big 12 in 2011 after receiving honorable mention in 2010.
How did he end up in Baltimore?
Tucker graduated a semester early to train for the NFL draft, but he was not invited to the Senior Bowl, East-West Shrine Bowl or NFL combine.
He went undrafted in 2012, when four kickers were selected, and signed with the Ravens as an undrafted free agent.
The Ravens had Billy Cundiff, coming off a missed chip-shot field goal to tie the 2011 AFC championship game, on the roster. After Tucker’s performance in the preseason, they cut Cundiff and named Tucker the starter. Tucker has started every game for the Ravens since 2012.
Establishing kicking greatness
As a rookie, Tucker finished with the seventh-best field goal percentage (90.9%) in the league. Only one rookie kicker, Blair Walsh, finished with a better mark. Tucker made two fourth-quarter field goals in Super Bowl XLVII, helping the Ravens beat the San Francisco 49ers 34-31.
The Baltimore Banner thanks its sponsors. Become one.
The next year, Tucker’s field goal percentage improved to 92.7% and he was named a Pro Bowler and All-Pro for the first time.
He’s the most accurate kicker in NFL history
By 2016, Tucker was among the most accurate kickers in the league with a career-high field goal percentage of 97.4%, which earned him his second All-Pro nod.
In the 2021 season, Tucker finished with the league’s best field goal percentage (94.6%) for the first time. It was the only individual season Tucker had the highest percentage, but his consistency over time helped him climb the all-time rankings.
Tucker holds the record for most accurate kicker of all time with a field goal percentage of 89.1%, half a percentage point above Kansas City’s Harrison Butker.
And Tucker has the longest field goal in NFL history
Tucker also holds the NFL record for longest field goal. In 2021, he made a 66-yard game-winning kick with three seconds left in a game against the Detroit Lions.
The Baltimore Banner thanks its sponsors. Become one.
He is a seven-time Pro Bowler and has been named a first-team All-Pro five times and a second-team All-Pro three times. He was also named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s All-Decade Team for the 2010s.
Justin Tucker’s cap hit will be the highest of any kicker in 2025
Between field goals and extra points, Tucker has scored 1,775 points over 13 years.
In 2022, the Ravens signed Tucker to a four-year extension worth $24 million that made him the highest-paid kicker at the time of his deal. He took up 2.88% of the Ravens’ salary-cap space at the time, the highest percentage for an active kicker.
Following his undrafted rookie contract, the Ravens signed him as a restricted free agent and then agreed to a four-year, $16.8 million contract extension in 2016.
The Ravens reached a new deal with Tucker in 2019 and then again in 2022.
The Baltimore Banner thanks its sponsors. Become one.
Tucker is signed through 2027. Next season, he has a cap hit of $7,072,500, which is 2.57% of the team’s 2025 cap space, the 10th-highest such number on the team.
He’s a beloved figure in Baltimore
A kicker rarely becomes one of the most popular players on a team. But Tucker transcended the limits of his position (he takes the field only for kickoffs, extra points and field goals) and became one of the Ravens’ most recognizable faces.
Since 2015, Tucker has served as a spokesperson for the local convenience store chain Royal Farms.
According to Business Insider, he has signed deals with BlindsToGo, Carbiz, Duracell, Dr Pepper, FOCO, HelloFresh, Leesa, Lululemon, Secret deodorant and Walmart. He also has recent posts for Olipop on Instagram.
“60 Minutes” did a 2022 segment on him called “The Kicker.” It examined how kickers are often thought of as replaceable but Tucker is highly respected. Coach John Harbaugh called him the “best ever.”
The Baltimore Banner thanks its sponsors. Become one.
He was also in the NFL’s kickoff commercial and a commercial for the movie “Kraven the Hunter.”
Justin Tucker is a trained opera singer
At the University of Texas, Tucker majored in recording technology at the Butler School of Music. He studied under Nikita Storojev, a Russian American bass opera singer.
Although his focus was always football, Tucker has sung opera at concerts and Catholic Masses, as well as for an NFL commercial and a Dr Pepper ad campaign, which has helped build his off-field persona. He won Most Valuable Performer on an NFL talent show televised on CBS in 2018. He was interviewed about his music by the National Endowment for the Arts.
Many of his performances have been for Catholic Charities. “I guess on a scale of one to Catholic, I’m Catholic,” as he told Catholic Review.
He has participated in a long list of community events hosted by the Ravens and other organizations.
Justin Tucker missed big field goals this season
This season, Tucker had the worst performance of his career. His field goal percentage was 73.3%, lower than his second-worst season percentage by 9.2 points.
He missed two consecutive unblocked field goals in one game for the first time since 2014, and he missed a field goal in three straight games for the first time in his career.
Additionally, Tucker had the second-worst extra-point percentage (96.8%) of his career.
Nonetheless, the Ravens stuck by him.
The team does not have a backup kicker on the roster or the practice squad, although punter Jordan Stout has experience kicking in college. Harbaugh said the Ravens wouldn’t bring in competition for Tucker.
Tucker made all of his field goals after the team’s Week 14 bye, although he had only three attempts.
Tucker’s Ravens contract lasts for three more seasons
Tucker is under contract for three more seasons. It remains to be seen if the team or the league will investigate the allegations against him.
Harbaugh has said the Ravens are “kind of zero tolerance” when asked about accusations of sexual misconduct against Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson. The NFL has its own personal conduct policy.
Comments
Welcome to The Banner's subscriber-only commenting community. Please review our community guidelines.