Bernie Kosar Net Worth: The Highs And Lows Of A Football Legend

Bernie Kosar, a retired American football quarterback, currently has a net worth of $2 million. Despite earning millions during his NFL career, Kosar has experienced significant financial struggles, making his story a cautionary tale for professional athletes. His financial hardships were highlighted in an episode of the ESPN docuseries 30 for 30 titled Broke, where he revealed mismanagement of his earnings and a series of bad investments that led to bankruptcy.

Bernie Kosar Net Worth	$2 Million
Date of Birth	Nov 25, 1963
Place of Birth	Youngstown
Nationality	American
Profession	American Football Player

Table of Contents

NFL Career

Kosar’s NFL journey began in 1985 when he was drafted by the Cleveland Browns after a stellar college football career at the University of Miami. Though his path to the NFL was mired in controversy, he quickly established himself as a key player for the Browns. He played for Cleveland from 1985 to 1993, earning a reputation for his toughness and leadership on the field.

Kosar’s time with the Browns was a mix of promise and frustration. His early years showed great potential, but injuries and a lack of strong team support hindered his progress. In 1991, the Browns hired Bill Belichick as head coach, who wasn’t a fan of Kosar. This led to Kosar being benched in favor of quarterback Vinny Testaverde, his former teammate from Miami. Kosar returned to the field after an injury to Testaverde but was eventually released from the team.

In a twist of fate, Kosar joined the Dallas Cowboys in 1993, where he filled in for an injured Troy Aikman. His backup role earned him a Super Bowl XXVIII championship ring, the only one of his career. Kosar finished his playing days with the Miami Dolphins as Dan Marino’s backup and is remembered for a crucial trick play that helped the Dolphins secure a win over the New York Jets in 1994.

Kosar’s NFL career spanned 12 seasons, with 1,994 completions in 3,365 attempts for 23,301 yards, 124 touchdowns, and 87 interceptions. His record for the most consecutive completed passes without an interception stood until 2010, when Tom Brady broke it.

Bankruptcy

Despite earning a significant income during his football career, Kosar’s financial woes became well-known after his retirement. He earned approximately $19 million in NFL salary over his career. Here’s a breakdown of his key earnings:

In 1985, Kosar signed a five-year, $5.2 million contract with the Cleveland Browns, which included a $1 million signing bonus.
In 1989, he signed a six-year contract with the Browns that could have been worth $15 million, with a $3 million signing bonus, though he likely earned around $7.5 million.
In 1993, Kosar signed a seven-year, $27 million contract extension with the Browns but was released just five weeks later, receiving $4 million in guaranteed money.
After leaving Cleveland, he signed a one-year, $1 million deal with the Dallas Cowboys.
During his final seasons with the Miami Dolphins, Kosar earned between $600,000 and $700,000 per year based on performance bonuses.

Despite these substantial earnings, Kosar faced a series of financial setbacks, including bad investments, real estate losses, and personal mismanagement of funds. In June 2009, during the fallout of the global financial crisis, Kosar filed for bankruptcy, revealing he had $9.2 million in assets but owed $18.9 million in liabilities. Shockingly, he disclosed that he had just $44 in his checking account at the time.

Among his liabilities were:

$1.5 million owed to the Cleveland Browns.
$3 million owed to his ex-wife.
$9 million owed to a bank for failed real estate investments.
$725,000 borrowed from the owner of the Cleveland Gladiators Arena Football League team.

Kosar’s bankruptcy filing was initially submitted as Chapter 11 restructuring but was later changed to Chapter 7 liquidation. The only asset protected during this process was his NFL pension, which reportedly provides him around $200,000 per year.

Real Estate

Kosar’s real estate ventures were a mixed bag. In 2006, he purchased a 10,000-square-foot waterfront mansion in Weston, Florida, for $3.499 million. The property was located in the same gated community as fellow NFL quarterback Dan Marino. However, by 2009, Kosar had fallen behind on property taxes, and the mansion faced foreclosure. He eventually sold the property in 2010 for $2.1 million, a significant loss.

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In September 2012, Kosar purchased a 95-acre farm in Mantua, Ohio, for $1.35 million, marking a new chapter in his post-football life.