Kurt Warner

Early life

Kurtis Eugene Warner was born on June 22, 1971, in Burlington, Iowa. Warner played high school football at Regis High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, graduating in 1989.

College career

After high school, Warner attended the University of Northern Iowa, graduating in 1993. At UNI, he was third on the Panthers' depth chart until his senior year. When Warner was finally given the chance to start, he was named the Gateway Conference's Offensive Player of the Year and first-team all-conference.

Professional career

Green Bay Packers

Following his college career, Warner went undrafted in the 1994 NFL draft. He was invited to try out for the Green Bay Packers' training camp in 1994, but was released before the regular season began. Warner was competing for a spot against Brett Favre, Mark Brunell, and former Heisman Trophy winner Ty Detmer. While Warner was with the Packers, the head coach was Mike Holmgren, the quarterback coach was Steve Mariucci, and Andy Reid was the offensive assistant.

In 1994, after his release, Warner stocked shelves and faced products at a Hy-Vee grocery store in Cedar Falls for $5.50 an hour. He worked the night shift from 9:30 -10 p.m. to 4:00 - 5 a.m. so he could work out and train for football during the day. Warner often cites this starting point when telling of his rise to NFL stardom in 1999. He also mentions that his deepened dedication to Christianity occurred around 1997. Warner returned to Northern Iowa and worked as a graduate assistant coach with the football team, while still hoping to get another tryout with an NFL team.

Iowa Barnstormers

With no NFL teams willing to give him a chance, Warner turned to the Arena Football League (AFL) in 1995 and signed with the Iowa Barnstormers. He was named to the AFL's First-team All-Arena in both 1996 and 1997 after he led the Barnstormers to ArenaBowl appearances in both seasons. Warner's performance was so impressive that he was later named twelfth out of the 20 Best Arena Football Players of all time.

Before the 1997 NFL season, Warner requested and got a tryout with the Chicago Bears, but an injury to his throwing elbow caused by an unknown insect bite sustained during his honeymoon prevented him from attending.

In 2000, after Warner's breakout NFL season, the AFL used his new fame for the name of its first widely available video game, Kurt Warner's Arena Football Unleashed. Years later, on August 12, 2011, he would be inducted into the Arena Football Hall of Fame.

St. Louis Rams

In December 1997 after the St. Louis Rams' season ended, Warner signed a future contract with the team. In February 1998, he was allocated to NFL Europe to play for the Amsterdam Admirals, where he led the league in touchdowns and passing yards. His backup at the time was future Carolina Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme. Returning to the United States, Warner spent the 1998 season as St. Louis's third-string quarterback behind Tony Banks and Steve Bono, beating out former Virginia Tech quarterback Will Furrer. He ended his season completing only 4 of 11 pass attempts for 39 yards and a 47.2 quarterback rating.

Prior to the 1999 free-agency period, the Rams chose Warner to be one of the team's five unprotected players in the 1999 NFL expansion draft. Warner went unselected by the Cleveland Browns, who chose no Rams and whose only quarterback selection was Scott Milanovich. Warner and the Rams had feared his being selected by the Browns upon learning the Browns hired John Hufnagel for their coaching staff, as Hufnagel had been a rival coach from Warner's Arena League days.

The Rams let Bono leave in free agency and signed Trent Green to be the starter. Banks was traded to the Ravens, and Warner now found himself second on the depth chart. After Green suffered a torn ACL via a low hit by Rodney Harrison in a preseason game, Rams coach Dick Vermeil named Warner as the Rams' starter. In an emotional press conference, Vermeil—who had not seen Warner work with the first-string offense—said, "We will rally around Kurt Warner, and we'll play good football." With the support of running back Marshall Faulk and wide receivers Isaac Bruce, Torry Holt, Az-Zahir Hakim, and Ricky Proehl, Warner put together one of the top seasons by a quarterback in NFL history, throwing for 4,353 yards with 41 touchdown passes and a completion rate of 65.1%. The Rams' high-powered offense, run by offensive coordinator Mike Martz, was nicknamed "The Greatest Show on Turf" and registered the first in a string of three consecutive 500-point seasons, an NFL record.

Warner threw three touchdown passes in each of his first three NFL starts, an NFL record until it was surpassed by Patrick Mahomes in 2018. Warner drew more attention in the Rams' fourth game of the season, a home game against the San Francisco 49ers (who had been NFC West division champions for 12 of the previous 13 seasons). The Rams lost their last 17 meetings with the 49ers, but Warner proceeded to throw a touchdown pass on each of the Rams' first three possessions of the game, and four touchdowns in the first half alone, to propel the Rams to a 28–10 halftime lead on the way to a 42–20 victory. Warner finished the game with five touchdown passes, giving him 14 in four games and the Rams a 4–0 record. Warner's breakout season from a career in anonymity was so unexpected that Sports Illustrated featured him on their October 18 cover with the caption "Who Is This Guy?" He was named the 1999 NFL MVP at the season's end for leading the Rams to their first playoff berth since 1989 (when they were still in Los Angeles) and their first division title since 1985.

New York Giants

Two days after his release from the Rams, he signed a one-year, $3 million deal with the New York Giants, with a second year player option worth $6 million. Warner started the 2004 season as the Giants' starting quarterback, winning five of his first seven games, but following a two-game losing streak, highly touted rookie quarterback Eli Manning was given the starting job in a decision made by Tom Coughlin not based on Warner's play. The Giants had a 5–4 win–loss record at the time of Warner's benching. Warner made a spot appearance at the end of a Giants blowout loss against the Baltimore Ravens, and it was Warner who advised Coughlin to go to the media and say that Manning was still the starter for the team. It was the last appearance for Warner as a Giant. Ultimately, New York finished at 6–10 (going only 1–6 under Manning). Following the season, Warner chose to void the second year of his contract, and thus became a free agent.

Arizona Cardinals

In early 2005, Warner signed a one-year, $4-million contract with the Arizona Cardinals, and was quickly named the starter by coach Dennis Green. Warner posted three relatively mediocre performances before injuring his groin and being replaced by former starter Josh McCown. McCown performed well enough in the two games Warner missed that McCown remained the starter.

After McCown struggled in two straight games, Green re-inserted Warner into the starting line-up. After playing fairly well in two consecutive losses (passing for a total of nearly 700 yards), Warner defeated his former team, the St. Louis Rams, by a score of 38–28. He passed for 285 yards and three touchdowns while posting a quarterback rating of 115.9. Warner's season ended in week 15 when he partially tore his MCL.

Warner signed a new three-year extension with the Cardinals on February 14, 2006. The deal had a base salary of $18 million and, with performance incentives, could have been worth as much as $24 million.

In week 1 of the 2006 NFL season, Warner won the NFC Offensive Player of the Week award, throwing for 301 yards and three touchdowns in a win over the San Francisco 49ers. Two weeks later, Warner passed the 20,000-yard passing milestone in his 76th game, the second-quickest of any player in NFL history (Warner accomplished the feat in one game more than it took record-holder Dan Marino).

After three subpar games in Weeks 2–4, Warner was replaced as quarterback by rookie Matt Leinart in the fourth quarter of week 4. Head coach Dennis Green stated that Warner would be the backup quarterback for the remainder of the season. In week 16, Leinart went down with a shoulder injury against the 49ers, forcing Warner to see his first action since week 4. Warner filled in nicely, as he was able to hang on for the Cardinals win. In week 17 against the San Diego Chargers, Warner started again in place of the injured Leinart, throwing for 365 yards (which led the NFL for that week) and a touchdown, though the Chargers were able to hold on for a 27–20 win.

Leinart was given the starting quarterback job at the start of the 2007 season. However, in the third game of the season, against the Baltimore Ravens, Warner came off the bench to relieve an ineffective Leinart during the 4th quarter with the Ravens leading 23–6 at the beginning of the quarter. Warner led a furious comeback, as he completed 15 of 20 passes for 258 yards and 2 touchdowns. This brought Arizona to a tie game (23–23), though Arizona would go on to lose the game 26–23 after Baltimore kicked a last-second field goal.

Retirement

Warner officially announced his retirement from the NFL in January 2010. He said he was looking forward to finally being a true father to his seven kids, and that he wanted to spend time with his wife. He spoke on the impact and influence of his family, former teammates, and God. He became eligible for induction into the Hall of Fame following the 2014 season. In December 2014, Warner admitted he briefly considered coming out of retirement and returning to the Cardinals following the team losing Carson Palmer and Drew Stanton due to injuries.

Career statistics

Career highlights

Awards and honors

NFL

Super Bowl champion (XXXIV)

3× NFC champion (1999, 2001, 2008)

Super Bowl MVP (XXXIV)

2× NFL Most Valuable Player (1999, 2001)

Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year (2008)

2× First-team All-Pro (1999, 2001)

4× Pro Bowl (1999–2001, 2008)

2× NFL passing touchdowns leader (1999, 2001)

3× NFL completion percentage leader (1999–2001)

2× NFL passer rating leader (1999, 2001)

NFL passing yards leader (2001)

The Sporting News Athlete of the Year (2000)

2× NFC Offensive Player of the Month (October 1999, September 2000)

9× NFC Offensive Player of the Week (Week 3, 1999; Week 5, 2000; Week 3, 2001; Week 12, 2001; Week 11, 2005; Week 1, 2006; Week 2, 2008; Week 9, 2009; Week 13, 2009)

2× Pro Football Weekly NFL Offensive Player of the Week (Week 5, 2000; Week 9, 2009)

No. 90 on The Top 100: NFL's Greatest Players

PFWA Good Guy Award (2009)

AFL

2× First-team All-Arena (1996, 1997)

NFL records

First quarterback to throw 400+ yards in a Super Bowl game – 414 yards against Tennessee in Super Bowl XXXIV

Was the most passing yards in a Super Bowl game until surpassed by Tom Brady in Super Bowl LI

Most touchdown passes in a single postseason – 11 touchdowns (in 2009, tied with Joe Montana in 1990, Joe Flacco in 2013, and Patrick Mahomes in 2021)

Career passing yards per game, playoffs: 304.0

Highest rate of games with 300+ yards passing (min. 100 games played) – 41.9% (52/124)

First quarterback to throw 40 touchdowns and win a Super Bowl in the same season (in 1999; Tom Brady accomplished the same feat in 2020 when he threw 40 touchdowns and won Super Bowl LV.)

Most yards passing in the first five games of a season – 1947 yards (2000)

Most yards passing in the first six games of a season – 2260 yards (2000)

Highest average passing yards per game on Monday Night Football – 329.4 yards (min 7 games)

Most wins in the NFC Championship Game without a loss (3–0; 1999, 2001, 2008).

Warner shares several records:

One of four quarterbacks to throw 100 touchdown passes with two teams (Fran Tarkenton, Peyton Manning, and Tom Brady)

One of two quarterbacks tied to throw five touchdown passes in two playoff games – (following Daryle Lamonica)

Post-retirement career

Warner became an Iowa Barnstormers broadcaster for the 2011 Arena Football League season. In May 2010, he was inducted into the Arena Football Hall of Fame. He is also a member of the Iowa Barnstormers Hall of Fame.

Warner was inducted into the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame in 2014.

Warner was selected for induction in the Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 2017. He was inducted on August 5, 2017, alongside Morten Andersen, Terrell Davis, Kenny Easley, Jerry Jones, Jason Taylor, and LaDainian Tomlinson. Warner is the only person inducted into both the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the Arena Football Hall of Fame.

From 2015 to 2018, Warner was a coach at Desert Mountain High School in Scottsdale, Arizona. Notably, Kedon Slovis played under Warner before being recruited by the USC Trojans for the 2019 college football season.

Since 2019, Warner has been the quarterbacks coach at Brophy College Preparatory.

Broadcasting

In 2010, Warner joined NFL Network as an analyst. He can be seen regularly on NFL Total Access, as well as in-studio on NFL Network's Thursday Night Football pregame show, Thursday Night Kickoff Presented by Sears. Warner also served as an analyst for the NFL Network's coverage of the 2010 Arena Football League playoffs. Warner tested positive for COVID-19 in January 2021, and was unable to serve on the studio panel for NFL GameDay Morning for the wild card playoff round.

In August 2010, Fox Sports announced that Warner would be serving as a color analyst on the network's NFL coverage in the 2010 season. He teamed with play-by-play announcers Chris Rose or Chris Myers to call regional games.

In 2014, Westwood One radio hired Warner as a substitute analyst on Monday Night Football games when regular analyst Boomer Esiason is unavailable. In 2018, Warner became the full-time radio analyst.

Personal life

Childhood

Kurt Warner was born to Gene and Sue Warner. Warner's parents divorced when he was six. Kurt and his brother, Matt, lived with their mother, including through another short marriage and divorce.

Kurt's father, Gene Warner, remarried a year after divorcing Kurt's mother. Warner's stepmother, Mimi Warner, also had a son named Matt (Post). The three boys formed a close relationship soon thereafter. Kurt graduated in 1989 from Regis High School, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where he was quarterback of the school's Class 3A football team.

College

Warner graduated from University of Northern Iowa with a degree in communications.

Marriage

During college, Warner met his future wife, Brenda Carney Meoni; they married on October 11, 1997. Brenda is a former United States Marine Corps corporal. She was divorced with two children, one of whom was left brain damaged and blind after being accidentally dropped by Brenda's ex-husband, leading to her hardship discharge from the Marines in 1990.

After Warner was cut from the Packers' training camp in 1994, he got a job working the night shift as a night stock clerk at a local Hy-Vee grocery store, in addition to his work as an assistant coach at Northern Iowa. While Warner was working as an assistant coach, the couple were living in Warner's parents' basement in Cedar Falls. Brenda's parents were killed in 1996 when their Mountain View, Arkansas, home was destroyed by a tornado. Warner and Brenda married on October 11, 1997, at the St. John American Lutheran Church, the same place where the service for Brenda's parents was held. Warner was still hoping to get an NFL tryout, but with that possibility appearing dim and the long hours at Hy-Vee for minimum wage taking their toll, Warner began his Arena League career.

After marrying Brenda, Warner officially adopted her two children from her first marriage; they have since had five children together. His son E. J. is the starting quarterback for the Fresno State Bulldogs. Another son, Kade, played wide receiver for the Kansas State Wildcats and signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in April 2023.

Christian faith and testimony

Kurt and Brenda Warner are devout evangelical Christians. His faith first emerged on the national stage following the Rams' Super Bowl victory, where he was named the game's MVP:

Mike Tirico from ABC: "Kurt, first things first — tell me about the final touchdown pass to Isaac."

Kurt Warner: "Well, first things first, I've got to thank my Lord and Savior up above — thank you, Jesus!"

Nine years later, upon leading the Cardinals to the franchise's first-ever Super Bowl, Warner's response was similar:

Terry Bradshaw from Fox: "You're not going to like this, but you're the third oldest quarterback to ever play in the Super Bowl. How does that make you feel?"

Kurt Warner: "Everybody's going to be tired of hearing this, but I never get tired of saying it. There's one reason that I'm standing up on this stage today. That's because of my Lord up above. I've got to say thanks to Jesus; you knew I was going to do it, but I've got to do it. And secondly, I've gotta say thanks to you guys (motioning to the Arizona fans); when nobody else believed in us, when nobody else believed in me, you guys did. And we're going to the Super Bowl!"

Warner has usually attended charismatic churches, and believes that God healed him from a concussion he suffered in 2000. However, he eschews the term "charismatic". In 2001, he told Charisma, "I'm just a Christian."

Media appearances

Television

On January 27, 2009, Warner made a special appearance on the NBC reality show The Biggest Loser.

Warner made a guest appearance on Disney's The Suite Life on Deck as himself, in the episode "Any Given Fantasy" which aired on January 18, 2010.

On February 9, 2010, Warner was a surprise guest on the final episode of The Jay Leno Show.

On August 30, 2010, it was announced on live television that Warner would be appearing as a contestant on Dancing with the Stars. His professional dance partner was Anna Trebunskaya; the couple was eliminated in week 8, the Instant Choreography Week.

Warner appeared as the host of The Moment, a reality series on USA Network, in 2013.

Film

In 2003, GoodTimes Entertainment released the direct-to-home video Kurt Warner's Good Sports Gang, a film featuring Warner as the "coach" of a group of animated sports balls. The series was sponsored by Warner, and focused on religious faith and moral values. A portion of the proceeds went to Warner's First Things First Foundation. Although it was originally planned as a series, Episode 1: Elliot the Invincible, was the only release along with Together, We're Better (Episode 2) and a few shorts featuring Warner and his adopted daughter, Jesse Warner.

In February 2020, it was announced that the Erwin Brothers were creating and releasing a theatrical film about Warner's life titled American Underdog, with Zachary Levi as Warner. The film was produced by Kingdom Story Company, and distributed by Lionsgate on December 25, 2021, to generally favorable reviews.

Endorsements

On December 3, 2010, Warner's first multi-year post-retirement endorsement agreement was announced. Amway North America announced that it had signed Warner to a multi-year endorsement agreement to represent the Nutrilite brand. Amway reportedly agreed to make a $50,000 donation to Kurt Warner's First Things First Foundation.

In addition to his post-retirement endorsements and charity work, Warner has invested in the Elite Football League of India, a South Asian professional football league. Other prominent American backers include former Chicago Bears head coach Mike Ditka, former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Michael Irvin, sports analyst and former NFL quarterback Ron Jaworski, and actor Mark Wahlberg. Warner's total investment amount remains undisclosed, although $50,000 of it will go towards a donation of footballs to schools and underprivileged children throughout India.

Warner was one of three Iowa college athletes, each from one of the state's three public four-year universities, to be the subjects of butter sculptures at the 2023 Iowa State Fair. Warner was joined by Caitlin Clark (Iowa basketball) and Jack Trice (Iowa State football).

Public service

Warner has also appeared in several public service announcements for Civitan International, promoting his and Brenda's volunteer efforts and their work with the developmentally disabled. This issue is personally close to Warner, as Zachary, his adopted son from Brenda's first marriage, suffered major brain damage as an infant when his biological father accidentally dropped him.

Warner has devoted time and money to his First Things First Foundation, the name of which was derived from his interview after winning the Super Bowl in 1999. The foundation is dedicated to impacting lives by promoting Christian values, sharing experiences and providing opportunities to encourage everyone that all things are possible when people seek to put "first things first". The foundation has been involved with numerous projects for causes such as children's hospitals, people with developmental disabilities and assisting single parents. Warner's work both on and off the field resulted in him being awarded the NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year Award 2008, which was presented to him at the start of Super Bowl XLIII. In March 2009, Warner was honored with the Muhammad Ali Sports Leadership Award. Warner was selected by USA Weekend as the winner of its annual Most Caring Athlete Award for 2009. In December 2009, Warner topped a Sports Illustrated poll of NFL players to name the best role model on and off the field in the NFL.

In February 2010, Warner received the annual Bart Starr Award, given for outstanding character and leadership in the home, on the field and in the community. At the award presentation, Bart Starr said of Warner: "We have never given this award to anyone who is more deserving".