Jason Michael Baker (born May 17, 1978) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a punter in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He was signed by the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

in 2001. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Iowa Hawkeyes The Iowa Hawkeyes are the athletic teams that represent the University of Iowa, located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. The Hawkeyes have varsity teams in 20 sports, 7 for men and 13 for women; The teams participate in Division I of the Nati ...

. He has also played for the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

, and

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

Early life

Baker attended Wayne High School in Fort Wayne, Indiana and lettered in

and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

. In football, he won second-team All-Conference honors as a senior.

College career

Baker played

at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

. When he graduated, he left as the Hawkeyes' all-time leader in punts and punting yards, with 272 punts for 11,304 yards. He was named

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

MVP MVP most commonly refers to: * Most valuable player, an award, typically for the best performing player in a sport or competition * Minimum viable product, a concept for feature estimating used in business and engineering MVP may also refer to: ...

of the

1997 Sun Bowl The 1997 Norwest Sun Bowl featured the Iowa Hawkeyes and the Arizona State Sun Devils. After a scoreless first quarter, Arizona State scored first, with a 35-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Steve Campbell to wide receiver Lenzie Jackson t ...

for his performance in Iowa's loss against

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...

, after registering eight punts for 391 yards. He also made honorable mention All-Big Ten honors as a senior in 2000. He majored in business administration.

Professional career

He was not drafted by any team, and was signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

by the

in April 2001 before being

waived A waiver is the voluntary relinquishment or surrender of some known right or privilege. A waiver is often written, such as a disclaimer that has been accepted, but it may also be spoken between two or more parties. When the right to hold a p ...

a short while later, not having appeared in any regular season games for them. He was then picked up by the

, and was their regular punter during the

2001 NFL season The 2001 NFL season was the 82nd regular season of the National Football League (NFL), and the first season of the 21st century. The league permanently moved the first week of the regular season to the weekend following Labor Day. In the wake o ...

. He was released the next year, and signed again by the Eagles. He played several games for them before being released again at the end of the season. He was signed by the

before the 2003 season, and was their regular punter for the whole season, averaging a respectable 39.5 yards per punt. Baker then had a bizarre season in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

. He was waived by Kansas City, then re-signed two weeks later, then waived a week after that. He was then picked up by the

, played with them for 5 weeks, then Indianapolis waived him and he was picked up by the

, who he finished the season with. He played for Denver in the AFC wild card game against his former team, Indianapolis. After the season, he was traded to the Carolina Panthers with a

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

draft pick Draft, the draft, or draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a ves ...

for

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...

punter

Todd Sauerbrun Todd Scott Sauerbrun (; born January 4, 1973) is an American former professional football player who was a punter in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons. He played college football for the West Virginia Mountaineers, and was reco ...

. Baker eventually won the punting job, after battling with Tom Rouen and Steve Cheek during

training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events ...

and the preseason. He played the rest of his seven seasons in Carolina, where he averaged 44.0 yards per punt in 112 games, set most of the franchise records, twice led the league in punts, and was a Pro Bowl alternate multiple times but never attended. The Panthers rewarded him with a contract making him the highest paid punter in the NFL prior to the 2007 season. Baker is one of the fastest running punters in the NFL. He managed to surprise the Seahawks'

Leon Washington Leon Dewitt Washington Sr. (born August 29, 1982) is an American former professional football player who played in the National Football League (NFL) as a running back and return specialist and made 2 Pro Bowls and 2 All-Pro teams during his c ...

in a game on December 5, 2010, tripping up the prematurely celebrating Washington to save a touchdown. 's NFL off-season, Jason Baker still held at least three Panthers franchise records, including: * Punts: career (570), playoff game (7 on 2006-01-22 @SEA; with

and

Brad Nortman Brad Nortman (born September 12, 1989) is an American former professional football punter. He played college football at the University of Wisconsin. He was selected by the Carolina Panthers in the sixth round of the 2012 NFL draft, making him ...

) * Punt yards: career (25,064)

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

References

* Additional Career statistics/player information
Pro Football Reference.com

External links

Carolina Panthers bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, Jason 1978 births American football punters Carolina Panthers players Denver Broncos players Indianapolis Colts players Iowa Hawkeyes football players Kansas City Chiefs players Living people Philadelphia Eagles players Players of American football from Fort Wayne, Indiana San Francisco 49ers players