Former NFL quarterback Erik Kramer faced a cascade of personal tragedies, a near-fatal suicide attempt, and devastating financial betrayal. Now, he's airing it all. In a new podcast from Johnathan Walton, The Quarterback and the Con Artist, Kramer details how, between 2015 and 2020, he tried to take his own life, then fell victim to financial abuse by Courtney Baird, a woman he secretly married during his recovery. Kramer—who played with the Falcons, Lions, Bears, and Chargers from 1991 to 1999—was struggling with his mental health following the deaths of his son and mother, and his father's cancer diagnosis. After surviving a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Kramer was left with the mental capacity "of a 6-year-old boy," he writes in an essay at the Guardian.
He notes Baird, posing as a caregiver, siphoned off as much as $15,000 a month—eventually draining approximately $700,000 from Kramer, including funds from his late son's memorial account. A friend became suspicious after seeing Amazon packages in Baird's name pile up outside Kramer's home. She pleaded guilty to theft, identity theft, forgery and dependent adult abuse and, after paying $170,000 in restitution to Kramer, was sentenced to six months in prison followed by probation. The 10-episode series also explores the broader issue of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) among football players, with Kramer's son, Dillon, suggesting the disease played a major role in his father's struggles, though it can only be diagnosed posthumously.
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