Marquette King

King was born and raised in Macon, Georgia, by his parents Audrey and Marquette King Sr. He has a younger sister named Jasmine. King began punting in high school and, as a child, he loved football and wanted to become a wide receiver. King practiced after his football practices at Rutland High School and asked teammates to join. After they declined his invitation, King decided to try punting during his free time, challenging himself to see how far he could kick. King's high school coach soon recognized his talent and named King the team's punter, in addition to his role as a wide receiver. ==College career==

King attended Fort Valley State University where he was originally recruited as a wide receiver. However, King could not find playing time at the position. As a junior, when his new head coach learned that King practiced punting in his spare time, he threatened to revoke King's scholarship unless he focused on becoming a full-time punter. King recounted this, and said "When [the coach] threatened to take my scholarship away from me to focus on being a punter I was like, 'All right, well, if you want to take my scholarship away from me, well, I'm [going to] find a way to make this position look fun.'" In his senior year, King was an All-First-team Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference member and the 2011 FVSU Wildcats Most Valuable Player. During the 2011 season, King punted 80 yards against Bethune-Cookman University. During the 2011 season, King led the SIAC Conference in punting with a 43 yards per punt average, with 21 punts landing inside his opponents' 20-yard-line and 16 of his punts yielded 50 yards or more. King competed in the first annual NFLPA Collegiate Bowl in 2012. ==Professional career==

Oakland Raiders in a 2017 game against the Washington Redskins After going undrafted in the 2012 NFL draft, the Oakland Raiders had King try out for the team. On April 29, 2012, the Raiders signed King to a three-year, $1.36 million contract. With Lechler signing a free-agent contract with the Houston Texans, King competed for the Oakland Raiders punting job during the 2013 preseason with experienced veteran Chris Kluwe. King won the punting job, and Kluwe was cut at the conclusion of the preseason. During the 2013 season, King led the league in gross yards per punt, with 48.9. These numbers also set single-season Oakland Raiders franchise records. On March 11, 2015, King signed a one-year, $1.54 million contract to remain with the Raiders. He was named the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week in Week 15. On February 29, 2016, the Raiders signed King to a five-year, $16.5 million extension with $12.5 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $250,000. On September 23, King was fined $18,231 for a touchdown saving horse-collar tackle on Eric Weems during a Week 2 game against the Atlanta Falcons. During the 2016 season, King was named the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week in Week 7. During King's career at the Raiders, his on the field celebrations and dances following punts were covered regularly by sports media. Often described as "eccentric", Cordarrelle Patterson explained that some on the Raiders team did not understand King's personality following his release, with the media discussing whether his profile had got in the way of his success. Denver Broncos On April 5, 2018, the Denver Broncos signed King to a three-year contract worth $7 million. He was placed on injured reserve on October 6 with a thigh injury. Two days later, the Broncos reached an injury settlement with King and he was released. St. Louis Battlehawks King was selected by the St. Louis Battlehawks in the 2020 XFL Supplemental Draft on November 22, 2019. He played in five games with them, and had 19 punts for 868 yards. King had his contract terminated when the league suspended operations on April 10, 2020. Arlington Renegades King was selected in the 2023 XFL draft by the Arlington Renegades. He re-signed with the team on January 29, 2024. King was named to the 2024 All-UFL team on June 5. He re-signed with the Renegades on October 25. King announced his retirement from professional football on February 9, 2026, stating he was convinced that the NFL was never going to give him another opportunity to play: "if the league’s gatekeepers want to block me out, I’ll shut that door myself(.)" ==NFL career statistics==

Regular season Postseason ==References==