Warning: This story contains details about alleged sexual abuse.
The Ravens were rocked by disturbing allegations against kicker Justin Tucker shortly after their season ended, with a handful of massage therapists claiming the now-35-year-old behaved inappropriately around them earlier in his career.
More massage therapists have since come forward with allegations of their own, painting a grim picture of a reputation that was once so strong for a player considered one of the all-time greats at his position.
Now, the ramifications are starting to pile up for the most accurate kicker in NFL history.
Baltimore announced on Monday that the team is releasing the longtime kicker from the roster. While the club made it clear that it is due to on-field performance, the noise off the field can’t go unnoticed.
Here’s a closer look at the allegations against Tucker and why the Ravens released him from the roster.
Why did the Ravens cut Justin Tucker?
The Ravens announced that they made the “tough decision” to release Tucker from the roster. Despite the ongoing allegations surrounding him, Baltimore insisted that it is a “football decision.”
Statement from Executive Vice President and General Manager Eric DeCosta pic.twitter.com/TNQrqw3me2
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) May 5, 2025
The news comes less than two weeks after the Ravens drafted Tyler Loop out of Arizona in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Tucker’s regression in 2024 eases the on-field blow for the Ravens. The seven-time Pro-Bowler was a career-worst 73.3 percent on field goal attempts last season, including three misses from less than 50 yards for the first time since his rookie season.
The veteran was 7-of-16 from at least 50 yards out over the last two seasons. While he looked more confident toward the end of the 2024 season, speculation about his future was beginning to mount before any misconduct allegations were reported.
Justin Tucker allegations
Tucker was initially accused of inappropriate sexual behavior by six massage therapists in a Jan. 30 report by The Baltimore Banner. Ten more massage therapists have since come forward with similar claims, bringing the total to 16 massage therapists from eight different spas in the Baltimore area.
The alleged incidents all occurred between 2012 and 2016, corresponding with the first five seasons of Tucker’s NFL career.
Tucker, who has been married since 2015, is accused of exposing his genitals to massage therapists and making inappropriate sexual contact in some cases.
“Five of the women said Tucker asked them to massage his pelvic region or inner thighs while he had an erection,” The Banner said in its initial report. “Then they said he repeatedly wiggled his pelvis to remove the sheets, which fully or partially exposed his genitals. Two women said Tucker brushed them with his exposed penis. Three said, when they returned to the treatment room after Tucker left, they discovered a large wet spot on the massage table, which they strongly believed to be ejaculate.”
When seven more massage therapists came forward with allegations, the claims were strikingly similar.
Tucker “intentionally and repeatedly exposed his genitals and brushed some of the therapists’ thighs with his fingers,” according to The Banner, which also reported Tucker “made intense eye contact” while exposing his genitals during one particular massage.
Some of the therapists told The Banner that “Tucker’s behavior was so egregious that they ended his sessions early or refused to work on him again.” Tucker was banned from two spas, The Banner reported, a claim Tucker and his lawyers strongly deny along with the rest of the allegations.
Tucker’s lawyers also provided a declaration from the owner of one of the spas involved, in which she says she never received or suspected any complaints about the Ravens kicker. The therapists from that spa told The Banner that they never reported Tucker’s misconduct out of fear they would lose their jobs.
Criminal cases cannot be brought against Tucker because the statute of limitations has expired, but the allegations instantly raised questions about his future with the Ravens or in the NFL at all.
Justin Tucker’s statement on allegations
Tucker released a lengthy statement online after the article by The Banner was published, calling the allegations “unequivocally false.”
Throughout my career as a professional athlete, I have always sought to conduct myself with the utmost professionalism. I have never before been accused of misconduct of any kid, and I have never been accused of acting inappropriately in front of a massage therapist or during a massage therapy session or during other bodywork, and have never been told that I was not welcome at any spa or other place of business.
In accusing me of misconduct, the article takes innocuous, or ambiguous, interactions and skews them so out of proportion they are no longer recognizable, and it presents vague insinuations as fact. This is desperate tabloid fodder.
… I cannot be any clearer. These allegations are false and incredibly hurtful to both me, and more importantly, my family.
— Justin Tucker (@jtuck9) January 30, 2025
Tucker’s lawyers also released a statement denying the allegations and claiming their client has “never been banned from the two spas in question.”
“Mr. Tucker has never behaved inappropriately during any massage therapy session, and certainly never in the manner described by The Banner’s reporting,” the lawyers said. “Any suggestion to the contrary is a fictitious and utterly baseless claim.”
Tucker broke his silence again on Feb. 26, telling Outkick, “It devastates me to know that anyone I have worked with would not have felt respected and valued as a professional, but more importantly as a person, and to anyone who has felt otherwise, I am sorry.”
Tucker added that he “never intended to disrespect anyone, cross any boundary, or make anyone feel uncomfortable in any way whatsoever.”
Tucker’s wife, meanwhile, said in a statement to Outkick that she fully believes her husband. “The false allegations against Justin have caused so much hurt to our family. I believe my husband, and I love and support him fully.”
NFL’s statement on Justin Tucker allegations
The NFL hasn’t released a formal statement addressing the Tucker allegations, but commissioner Roger Goodell briefly commented on the matter at his Super Bowl 59 press conference.
“They are obviously serious issues, and he is taking that seriously as are we,” Goodell said.
The NFL is investigating the claims, according to ESPN, but the league declined to comment on the status of timeline of the probe. “We do not provide details or updates of the review process while investigations are ongoing,” an NFL spokesperson told ESPN.
Ravens’ statement on Justin Tucker allegations
The Ravens released a brief statement after the initial report accusing Tucker of misconduct:
Ravens statement regarding Justin Tucker: “We are aware of the Baltimore Banner’s story regarding Justin Tucker as well as his response. We take any allegations of this nature seriously and will continue to monitor the situation.”
— Jamison Hensley (@jamisonhensley) January 30, 2025
Ravens GM Eric DeCosta also addressed the claims at the NFL Combine. “The allegations are serious, concerning,” DeCosta told reporters. “The amount of allegations are serious and concerning.”
DeCosta confirmed the NFL is investigating the matter and said at the time that the Ravens would hold off on any decision until the investigation provided more information.
“I think we’re fortunate the league is doing an investigation,” DeCosta said. “We’ll wait as patiently as we can for as much information as we can. We’ll make our decisions based on that.”
DeCosta confirmed he met with the NFL as part of the investigation, also adding that he had spoken with Tucker.
Justin Tucker contract
Tucker signed a four-year, $24 million extension with the Ravens in 2022, running through 2027. He was set to count $7.1 million against the salary cap in 2025.
Releasing Tucker before June 1 would leave the Ravens with $7.5 million in dead cap money, hurting the franchise slightly in 2025 but taking Tucker’s deal off the books for 2026 and beyond.
