Kurt Warner

Kurtis Eugene Warner (born June 22, 1971) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons, primarily with the St. Louis Rams and Arizona Cardinals.

An undrafted free agent, Warner ascended from the Arena Football League and NFL Europe to become a two-time Most Valuable Player and a Super Bowl MVP.

Warner appeared in three Super Bowls as a starting quarterback and is one of very few quarterbacks to lead multiple franchises to a Super Bowl.

His career is widely regarded as one of the greatest Cinderella stories in NFL history.

Born in Burlington, Iowa, Warner played football at Regis High School in Cedar Rapids, graduating in 1989.

After playing college football at Northern Iowa from 1990 to 1993, Warner spent four years without being named to an NFL roster.

After graduation from high school, he attended the University of Northern Iowa, graduating in 1993.

At UNI, Warner 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.

He was signed by the Green Bay Packers in 1994, but released before the regular season and instead played three seasons for the Iowa Barnstormers of the Arena Football League (AFL).

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.

After his release, Warner stocked shelves at a Hy-Vee grocery store in Cedar Falls for $5.50 an hour.

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.

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.

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 December 1997 after the St. Louis Rams' season ended, Warner signed a future contract with the team.

Warner landed his first NFL roster spot in 1998 with the Rams, holding a backup position until he was thrust into becoming St. Louis's starter the following season.

During his first season as an NFL starting quarterback, Warner led The Greatest Show on Turf offense to the Rams' first Super Bowl title in Super Bowl XXXIV, earning him league and Super Bowl MVP honors.

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 QB rating.

Warner often cites this starting point when telling of his rise to NFL stardom in 1999.

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.

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.

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.

He won his second league MVP award in 2001, en route to a Super Bowl XXXVI appearance, and also led an underdog Cardinals team to Super Bowl XLIII in 2008.

Considered the NFL's greatest undrafted player, Warner is the only undrafted player to be named NFL MVP and Super Bowl MVP, and the only undrafted quarterback to lead his team to a Super Bowl victory.

He was also the first quarterback to win a Super Bowl during his first season as the primary starter.

Years later, on August 12, 2011, he would be inducted into the Arena Football Hall of Fame.

Warner was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2017, and is the first and only player inducted to both the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the Arena Football Hall of Fame.