Erik Kramer

William Erik Kramer (born November 6, 1964) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL). He attended John Burroughs High School in Burbank, California. After attending Pierce College and playing as their quarterback, Kramer transferred to North Carolina State University. He was not drafted by an NFL team, but did see action in 1987, when he played for the Atlanta Falcons as a replacement player during the NFL players strike. He would then spend some time in the CFL with the Calgary Stampeders. Kramer would return to the NFL in 1991, when he became a surprise starter for the Detroit Lions after injuries sidelined Rodney Peete. Kramer played in 13 games, led the Lions to a 12–4 record, their first playoff victory since 1957, and a trip to the NFC Championship Game.

Early life William Erik Kramer was born November 6, 1964, in Encino, California. He attended John Burroughs High School in Burbank, California.

College career Kramer played quarterback at Pierce College, but became interested in transferring to NC State when the school won the national basketball title. He played two seasons for NC State, starting all 11 games both seasons. His 1985 junior season he compiled just a 3–8 record, though he led the ACC in completions (189), attempts (339), and passing yards (2,510). His senior year, despite slightly less offensive output (145–227 for 2,092 yards), saw the team improve to 8–3–1. This included a dramatic Hail Mary game-winning pass to defeat South Carolina in game 8 to take them to their highest ranking of the season at 15th. On the season, Kramer had 14 passing touchdowns and ran for five more, and was named ACC Player of the Year. Though NC State lost the 1986 Peach Bowl by one point to Virginia Tech, Kramer was still named player of the game.

Professional career

New Orleans Saints Kramer signed with New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent in 1987 following the 1987 NFL draft.

Atlanta Falcons After being released by the Saints, he signed with the Atlanta Falcons in 1987 during the player strike. He appeared in three games as one of five quarterbacks to start for the Falcons that season. In the last of these, he set four franchise rookie records with 27 completions on 46 attempts for 335 yards and three touchdowns.

Calgary Stampeders He played with the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL) for three years from 1988 to 1990. He threw for 964 yards, five touchdowns, and thirteen interceptions.

Detroit Lions After his three-year stint in the CFL, he returned to the NFL in 1991 as a some-time starter for the Detroit Lions, compiling a 10–5 record over three seasons. Kramer's nickname in Detroit was "Brass", a media-friendly redaction of "brass balls". The moniker apparently originated after Kramer called an audible on his first series as Lions' quarterback, having just replaced the injured Rodney Peete. One Lions' offensive lineman turned to another and said, "This guy's got brass balls." Kramer proved to be quite successful as a signal-caller in 1991 and the nickname stuck. His other nickname was "Cosmo", which was due to him having the same last name as the character Cosmo Kramer from the popular TV show, Seinfeld. He shared QB duties with Peete and Andre Ware. In the 1991 playoffs, he led the team to a 38–6 drubbing of the Dallas Cowboys, on a franchise postseason record 29 completions for 341 yards and three touchdowns. He also had the team's only touchdown in a loss to the Washington Redskins in the championship game. Combined with a loss in the 1993 postseason, he holds the career franchise postseason records for touchdowns (5 with Tobin Rote), passer rating (99.2), sacks (9), and yards per attempt (8.2) as well.

Chicago Bears In 1994, he signed as a free agent with the Chicago Bears, and spent the next five years there. In his two full seasons as a starter (1995 and 1997), Kramer was highly productive and passed for over 3,000 yards. Kramer became the all-time Chicago Bears leader in single-season passing yards, throwing for 3,838 yards in 1995. This record stood for 30 years until it was broken by Caleb Williams in 2025. Kramer still holds the all-time Chicago Bears record for passing touchdowns in a single season with 29.

San Diego Chargers Kramer signed with the San Diego Chargers in the 1999 offseason, but retired midseason due to a neck injury. Though he also missed much of the 1996 season with a neck injury, the two injuries were unrelated.

Kramer finished his 10 NFL seasons with 1,317 completions for 15,337 yards and 92 touchdowns, with 79 interceptions. He also rushed for 217 rushing yards and 5 touchdowns.

Career statistics

NFL Legend Bold Career high

Regular season Year Team Games Passing Rushing Sacks Fumbles 1987 ATL 3 2 1–1 45 92 48.9 559 6.1 33 4 5 60.0 2 10 5.0 11 0 10 82 0 0 1991 DET 13 8 6–2 136 265 51.3 1,635 6.2 73 11 8 71.8 35 26 0.7 12 1 14 74 8 4 1992 DET 7 3 1–2 58 106 54.7 771 7.3 77 4 8 59.1 12 34 2.8 11 0 15 80 4 3 1993 DET 5 4 3–1 87 138 63.0 1,002 7.3 48 8 3 95.1 10 5 0.5 4 0 5 35 1 1 1994 CHI 6 5 1–4 99 158 62.7 1,129 7.1 85 8 8 79.9 6 -2 -0.3 2 0 14 87 3 1 1995 CHI 16 16 9–7 315 522 60.3 3,838 7.4 76 29 10 93.5 35 39 1.1 11 1 15 95 6 4 1996 CHI 4 4 1–3 73 150 48.7 781 5.2 58 3 6 54.3 8 4 0.5 3 0 7 53 1 0 1997 CHI 15 13 4–9 275 477 57.7 3,011 6.3 78 14 14 74.0 27 83 3.1 31 2 25 149 11 8 1998 CHI 8 8 3–5 151 250 60.4 1,823 7.3 79 9 7 83.1 13 17 1.3 8 1 10 71 3 3 1999 SD 6 4 2–2 78 141 55.3 788 5.6 41 2 10 46.6 5 1 0.2 3 0 7 62 3 2 Career 83 67 31–36 1,317 2,299 57.3 15,337 6.7 85 92 79 76.6 153 217 1.4 31 5 122 788 40 26

Postseason Year Team Games Passing Rushing Sacks Fumbles 1991 DET 2 2 1–1 50 71 70.4 590 8.3 32 4 1 108.3 4 4 1.0 3 0 5 30 3 3 1993 DET 1 1 0–1 22 31 71.0 248 8.0 31 1 2 78.4 1 1 1.0 1 0 4 13 1 1 1994 CHI 1 0 0–0 19 28 67.9 161 5.8 20 1 0 94.5 0 0 0.0 0 0 4 31 0 0 Career 4 3 1–2 91 130 70.0 999 7.7 32 6 3 98.2 5 5 1.0 3 0 13 74 4 4

College Season Team Passing Rushing 1985 NC State 11 189 339 55.8 2,510 7.4 16 12 126.4 90 -258 -2.9 1 1986 NC State 11 145 277 52.3 2,092 7.6 14 16 120.9 74 79 1.1 5 Career 22 334 616 54.2 4,602 7.5 30 28 124.0 164 -179 -1.1 6

Post-playing career After retiring from the NFL, Kramer went into sports broadcasting, covering the Detroit Lions as an in-studio analyst and then the Chicago Bears.

Kramer appeared as himself in an episode of Married... with Children, during which the series' protagonist, Al Bundy, sells his soul in order to lead the Bears to the Super Bowl.

On October 30, 2011, Kramer's 18-year-old son, Griffen, a senior at Thousand Oaks High School, was found dead at a friend's home from a heroin overdose. Sheriff's investigators charged four people, including two juveniles, with involuntary manslaughter and possession of a controlled substance.

On August 18, 2015, Kramer attempted suicide by renting a hotel room several miles away from his home and shooting himself in the head. Because of his inexperience with firearms, the shot failed to inflict a fatal wound and Kramer survived. Kramer attributed the suicide attempt to existing depression, made worse by Griffen's death and the deaths of both of his parents from cancer. The antidepressants Kramer had been taking to manage his depression were no longer effective nor were any other attempts to treat his condition. Kramer did not rule out that head injuries were a factor in his worsening mood but also noted that he lacked the ability to assess whether close family members truly loved him or knew he loved them even before his playing career. In petitioning to have his marriage annulled, Kramer said Baird stole $50,000 from him before they were married. Kramer added that Baird "exerted undue influence upon me to convince me, given my weakened mental state, that her actions were not wrongful" before the couple got married in 2016. On January 28, 2019, a Superior Court judge in Los Angeles annulled the marriage.

Kramer eventually regained his mental faculties in 2020, describing the event as a "wak(ing) up." The extensive rehabilitation also cured Kramer of his long-existing depression to the point where he now, as of 2021, lives a largely normal life.

On June 25, 2024, Cortney Baird pled guilty to four felony counts: Count 4 [PC 368(d)] theft from an elder/dependent adult; Count 5 PC 470 forgery; Count 10 PC 530.5 identity theft; Count 11 PC 368(d) theft from an elder/dependent adult. Additionally, Cortney Baird admitted to: PC 186.11 allegation taking of over $100,000 PC 803(c) allegation (related to statute of limitations – tolling): RC 4.421 circumstances in aggravation – taking advantage of a position of trust, vulnerable victim, large monetary loss, crime involved sophistication and planning. Cortney Baird was placed on 10 years felony probation, sentenced to 180 days in jail, no working as a caregiver or managing finances of others during probation and Erik Kramer received a 10-year criminal protection order. Courtney Baird received six months' prison time after agreeing to pay restitution of $170,000.