Jack Brewer

Jack Brewer (born January 8, 1979) is an American former professional football player who was a safety in the National Football League (NFL) for the Minnesota Vikings, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, and Arizona Cardinals. He played college football for the Minnesota Golden Gophers.

After his playing career, Brewer began a business career. He also became involved in politics as a supporter of President Donald Trump.

Early life Born in Fort Worth, Texas, Brewer grew up in nearby Grapevine and graduated from Grapevine High School in 1997. Brewer lettered in football and track in high school. As a senior wide receiver in 1996, Brewer had 48 catches for 776 yards and nine touchdowns on a 15–0 team that won the University Interscholastic League 4A state title. Brewer transferred to the University of Minnesota after one year at SMU. At Minnesota, Brewer redshirted the 1998 season per NCAA transfer rules before starting 10 games at free safety as a redshirt sophomore in 1999.

Senior captain Brewer was a first-team selection at defensive back by the media after leading the Big Ten Conference in tackles with 14.1 per game and 16.2 per game for Big Ten contests. He earned the Carl Eller Award for outstanding defensive player, and the Paul Giel Award for most unselfish player with most concern for the university. He was also selected to play in the East–West Shrine Game.

Brewer earned his bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Minnesota.

Professional sports career

In 2002, Brewer was signed by the Minnesota Vikings as a free agent. In his first year with the Vikings, Brewer played in 15 games and had one start. The Vikings waived Brewer on March 17, 2004.

Signing with the team on November 16 to replace the injured Sean Considine, Brewer played in six games with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2005 and finished tied for fifth on the team with 15 special teams tackles and twice led the team with four special teams tackles.

Brewer signed a one-year contract with the Arizona Cardinals on April 28, 2006. However, he was placed on injured reserve on September 2.

Business career After leaving the NFL, Brewer became a wealth manager at the global private client group of Merrill Lynch. In 2009, and an investment advisory firm. The SEC alleged that Brewer sold 100,000 shares in a penny stock, COPsync, after receiving confidential information indicating that the share price was likely to drop, and that Brewer "profited by approximately $35,000 more than he otherwise would have." The SEC sought $160,000 in penalties from Brewer.

Political advocacy

Brewer once supported Barack Obama, but later pledged support for Donald Trump. He met with Trump at the Bedminster Golf resort in June 2019.

In 2020, Brewer was given a four-year appointment by the White House as its nominee on the Congressional Committee for the Social Status of Black Men and Boys. Brewer helped Lil Wayne and Kodak Black receive their pardons from President Trump. In 2021, Brewer was named chair of the Opportunity Now Center at the America First Policy Institute.