EP 1 - The Quarterback and The Con Artist

Summary

Podcast Summary

Podcast: Johnathan Walton Media
Episode: EP 1 - The Quarterback and The Con Artist
Host: Johnathan Walton
Date: September 3, 2025

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Overview

This gripping first episode, "The Quarterback and The Con Artist," introduces listeners to the harrowing and inspiring journey of Eric Kramer, a retired NFL quarterback, as he navigates the profound challenges of traumatic brain injury, depression, and exploitation by a cunning con artist. Host Jonathan Walton masterfully details Kramer's career, his battles with mental health and CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy), and the intimate betrayal that left him vulnerable, ultimately leading to hope and personal triumph.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Secret Wedding: Setting the Scene

• 10am, December 22, 2016: Eric Kramer, suffering from severe traumatic brain injury, marries Courtney Baird in a secret civil ceremony at the Santa Barbara Courthouse.

• No one in Kramer's life knows: His mental capacity is compared to that of a six-year-old; he cannot legally consent.

• Courtney Baird’s exploitation: Baird is presented as a manipulative con artist exploiting loopholes in the system to gain access to Kramer's fortune.

  "You're actually witnessing a top secret event. No one in the groom's life knows this wedding is even taking place today because the groom, Eric Kramer, a retired NFL quarterback with millions of dollars in the bank, is suffering from a severe traumatic brain injury. He's got the mental capacity of a 6-year-old. At this point, he should not have the ability to consent to getting married. Yet here he is saying, 'I do.'"
  – Jonathan Walton (03:03)

The Motive and Methods of the Con Artist

• Baird steals from Kramer: Footage, testimony, and interviews suggest she siphoned off hundreds of thousands, exploiting her new status as spouse to evade prosecution.

• Witnesses speak up: Friends and family confirm that Baird used legal loopholes and Kramer's incapacitated state to continue the theft.

  "Courtney was stealing from him."
  – Anna Durgan (03:54)
  "Oh, she was milking him for every cent he had."
  – Chris German (03:56)
  "This secret marriage was a way to keep taking his money."
  – Anna Durgan (04:03)

Eric Kramer: An Unlikely Football Hero

• Kramer’s career trajectory: Described as not a natural superstar, but someone who made it through relentless hard work, study, and drive.

• Overcoming the odds: Despite never being the fastest or strongest, Kramer's intelligence and perseverance set him apart.

• Self-advocacy: After being cut and dropped by his agent, Kramer called all 28 NFL teams himself; only the Detroit Lions responded, giving him a second chance.

  "I was everything physically you wouldn't want to be, but then decided to be something different."
  – Eric Kramer (07:59)

  "He treated that football field like a chessboard and you planned your moves and you studied harder than anyone else."
  – Jonathan Walton (08:26)

  "A lot of this, I don't care what sport it is you're playing... the process of getting better is filled with falling down and then hopefully getting back up and finding ways to get back up, only do it better next time."
  – Eric Kramer (09:01)

Surviving Setbacks: Physical and Mental Health

• On injuries: Eric's separated shoulder, desperate remedies (including a deer tendon potion), and relentless attempts to keep playing.

• Brain injuries and CTE: The show provides a comprehensive look at CTE—what it is, how it’s caused, its symptoms, and its toll on players.

  "There was only one time I was ever knocked out... but knowing what we know now and what constitutes a concussion, I would say many more than that."
  – Eric Kramer (25:17)

  "Depression, when it seizes you, it... draws you inward... shrinks it down into the size of a keyhole. And then sometimes there's not much light in there."
  – Eric Kramer (26:24)

The Personal Toll: Depression and its Consequences

• Onset of depression: Kramer describes a crushing, inescapable depression, sometimes brought on by career setbacks, compounded by brain trauma.

• Coping and breakdown: Despite decades of resilience, multiple tragedies push Kramer to a suicide attempt in 2015. He survives a shooting to the head, which leaves him deeply vulnerable.

  "I all of a sudden felt like, okay, here I was scrapping, scratching and clawing just to even be here. Well, now I am here. And now I'm not even holding up my end of the bargain... That's the first time I'd ever experienced anything like that. And so it was hard."
  – Eric Kramer (28:50)

Betrayal: How the Con Artist Took Advantage

• Post-injury vulnerability: Immediately after his traumatic brain injury and suicide attempt, Baird enters Kramer's life, isolates him from support, and continues to drain his resources.

• Family and friends’ disbelief: Loved ones struggle to comprehend the extent of her manipulation and their own inability to intervene.

  "We're just looking for him to get better. Get better, get better. Do your treatment, go in... We would not think that anybody would be coming in here and trying to steal from him. That would just be cruel."
  – Anna Durgan (16:27)

The Continuing Impact of Football

• Lasting effects: Son Dylan, family, and medical experts discuss the lifelong impacts of repeated concussions. Dylan, despite loving his dad, details the unique challenges and changes CTE wrought in his father's life and relationships.

  "I don't think that he was aware of what was going on. I genuinely don't. I think he was trying his absolute hardest to figure it out... And, yeah, I think. I think CTE is a huge reason for that, for sure."
  – Dylan Kramer (23:09)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On the marriage as a con:

• "This secret marriage was a way to keep taking his money."
  – Anna Durgan (04:03)

On unconventional self-advocacy:

• “I would call the main number and, you know, ask to speak to their, I don't know, scouting department... It was kind of my last ditch effort, really.”
  – Eric Kramer (12:14)

On the trauma of football:

• "The cumulative effect of all those concussions and all that brain trauma sneaks up on Eric Kramer. One day, his brain just stops working."
  – Jonathan Walton (26:05)

On the hidden cost of success:

• "If you're told to walk across a line, right, you can do that, no problem. But now you put that line up 500ft in the air and it's the same line. But the consequences are all different if you misstep."
  – Eric Kramer (27:57)

On hope and resilience:

• "Remember, this is a guy... he gets up, dusts himself off, and makes personal phone calls to 28 different teams and actually gets picked up by one of them. So Eric Kramer has a documented history of pushing through hard times."
  – Jonathan Walton (26:46)

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Important Timestamps

• 02:58 – 03:03: Eric Kramer’s mental incapacity at wedding
• 03:54 – 04:09: Family and friends’ thoughts on motive for secret marriage
• 04:47 – 08:26: Kramer's career, adversity, and breakthrough
• 12:14 – 13:11: Kramer's determination and self-advocacy to stay in NFL
• 13:18 – 15:17: Kramer's shoulder injury and attempts at alternative medicine
• 16:23 – 16:43: How Baird manipulated her way into Kramer's life
• 17:33 – 20:05: Dr. Mark Kerner explains CTE and its effects
• 23:00 – 24:00: Dylan Kramer on the personal impact of CTE
• 26:05 – 30:33: Eric details experience with depression
• 31:04 – 31:57: Surviving suicide attempt and rise of Baird's exploitation

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Conclusion

This episode sets the stage for a tale of heartbreak, exploitation, and resilience, blending intimate interviews, personal testimony, and expert commentary. Eric Kramer’s story is at once a cautionary tale about the unseen wounds of a life in football and a testament to the power of persistence and the human spirit.

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Transcript

[Jonathan Walton]

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[Jonathan Walton]

Well, nothing.

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[Jonathan Walton]

This series deals with troubling topics including suicide, drug overdosing and dependent adult abuse. If you or someone you know is struggling with depression or suicidal thoughts, call or text 988-right- now and speak with a counselor for free.

[Officiant]

Dearly beloved and honored guests, we are gathered here today to witness the coming together of these two people.

[Jonathan Walton]

It's 10am on December 22, 2016. 52 year old Eric Kramer is standing with his 43 year old bride Courtney Baird, about to get married.

[Officiant]

Marriage is a sacred institution. It's a tradition of partnership, of trust and of dependence on one another.

[Jonathan Walton]

The setting is just beautiful at the picturesque Santa Barbara Courthouse. A cavernous historic 90 year old building with Spanish Colonial Revival architecture, terracotta tiled floors, baroque old world murals on the walls, illuminated by gray gargantuan antique chandeliers.

[Officiant]

Eric Kramer, do you take Courtney Baird as your lawfully wedded wife? Will you honor and cherish her, love, trust and commit to her through joy and pain, sickness and health, until death do you part.

[Jonathan Walton]

This is actually a civil ceremony, one of several civil ceremonies scheduled at the courthouse today. But this wedding is uniquely different from the rest.

[Officiant]

Courtney Barrett, do you take Eric Kramer as your lawfully wedded husband?

[Jonathan Walton]

You're actually witnessing a top secret event. No one in the groom's life knows this wedding is Even taking place today because the groom, Eric Kramer, a retired NFL quarterback with millions of dollars in the bank, is suffering from a severe traumatic brain injury. He's got the mental capacity of 6 year old. @ this point, he should not have the ability to consent to getting married. Yet here he is saying, I do.

[Officiant]

By the power vested in me by the state of California, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.

[Jonathan Walton]

But the bride in this case is a conniving con artist. And at this very moment, she's exploiting a gaping loophole in the criminal justice system.

[Anna Durgan]

Courtney was stealing from him.

[Chris German]

Oh, she was milking him for every cent he had.

[Jonathan Walton]

What do you think she was thinking this marriage would do for her?

[Anna Durgan]

This secret marriage was a way to keep taking his money.

[Chris German]

It would give her immunity from any.

[Eric Kramer]

Type of criminal prosecution.

[Chris German]

Because they're married. What's his is hers. What's hers is his.

[Jonathan Walton]

I'm Jonathan Walton and this is the quarterback and the con artist. Episode one. She was a gold digger. I'm not a football guy. I don't think I've ever seen an entire football game from start to end.

[Eric Kramer]

These mics are really sensitive.

[Jonathan Walton]

It's November 2024. I'm sitting at a table now in the greater Los Angeles area, home of retired NFL quarterback Eric Kramer, confessing my abject ignorance and my lack of passion for the sport of football. Like football holds no interest for me. But I just finished reading Eric Kramer's book titled the Ultimate Comeback, and it blew my mind. It starts out being about football, but then it turns into this insane, sweeping tale with crazy twists and turns, not to mention the rise and fall of a sinister con woman who infiltrates Eric's life and steals hundreds of thousands of dollars from him. And I just can't help but gush about the book now that I'm sitting in front of the Eric Kramer himself. But your book, your story is just so compelling and so dramatic and. And gut wrenching. And it has a happy ending, right? It's inspiring. It has a hopeful ending. Why write it? What made you think you could or should or would? Why? Why did you?

[Eric Kramer]

It was something that I wanted to do initially for Griffin and Dylan, Eric's two sons. The feedback I got from other people was unexpected. How other people relate to what happened for me has happened to millions of others. And I think that's what's become most gratifying, is it's gone beyond what I even thought it would be.

[Jonathan Walton]

Eric Kramer rises to fame in the early 1990s as a celebrated quarterback, Kramer.

[Dylan Kramer]

Hit him on a perfect pass.

[Jonathan Walton]

He plays for the New Orleans Saints, the Atlanta Falcons, the Calgary Stampeders, the Detroit Lions, the Chicago Bears, and the San Diego Chargers. But what's truly fascinating about Eric Kramer's career is growing up, it didn't really seem like he'd ever make it to the NFL.

[Chris German]

We went to this little tiny Catholic high school, St. Genevieve's High School, out in Panorama City.

[Jonathan Walton]

That's Chris German, one of Eric's childhood friends.

[Chris German]

We would carpool together. We played on the same team. You know, we were just high school buddies, you know, little knuckleheads rolling to school together.

[Jonathan Walton]

And could you see back then that he was destined for the NFL? Was that obvious?

[Chris German]

No, he was a good athlete. Definitely had the drive.

[Jonathan Walton]

You know what?

[Chris German]

He was a good quarterback, but pro caliber, not so much at the time.

[Jonathan Walton]

And what changed?

[Chris German]

Obviously, his perseverance and his drive and his vision and the people he surrounded him with. I mean, you meet that guy, you know, he's got a drive, just putting his nose to the grindstone and going for it, and he stuck with it and he made it.

[Jonathan Walton]

Finally, Eric Kramer is living proof that it doesn't really matter what kind of hand you're dealt in life. You can still end up winning the whole game.

[Eric Kramer]

I worked hard at it. I physically trained all the time. I watched a ton of film. I was naturally very tight, like non flexible. So then I stretched and I was naturally very slow, so then I got faster just because I ran. I was everything physically you wouldn't want to be, but then decided to be something different.

[Jonathan Walton]

I don't know anything about football, but I've read a lot about you and I've read a lot about what other players and coaches have said about you publicly in the press. I get the impression you weren't the fastest player, you weren't the strongest player, you weren't the best performing player, but you were the smartest player. You treated that football field like a chessboard and you planned your moves and you studied harder than anyone else. Is that a fair assessment? Is that how you see yourself? Am I wrong? Am I crazy?

[Eric Kramer]

I think that is right. I don't think you're wrong and I don't think you're crazy. Other than being the most obviously talented, physically or otherwise person. There are other ways to do the job and get it done. Because a lot of this, I don't care what sport it is you're playing or whatever it is you're doing in life, it's not Always filled with success. The process of getting better is filled with falling down and then hopefully getting back up and finding ways to get back up, only do it better next time.

[Jonathan Walton]

We always struggled with talent. I mean, the talent in that division, it was Brett Favre and Reggie White and Barry Sanders. That's former NFL coach Dave Wanstan. He hand picks Eric Kramer. Eric checked all the boxes that we were looking for to be starting quarterback for the Chicago Bears in 1994. And Eric goes on to win some big games while playing for the Bears, especially against the venerated Dallas Cowboys. I remember being in that locker room and winning that game on national tv.

[Dylan Kramer]

Just looking at the players. And I remember specifically Eric, obviously, because he was a quarterback, saying, we're going places. We're going to make some noise this year.

[Jonathan Walton]

And Eric credits part of his success as an NFL quarterback to Dr. Kevin Wildenhaus and a visualization technique. He showed Eric how to utilize to dial in his game.

[Eric Kramer]

He taught me about this sort of deep breathing and meditation and sort of guided imagery where you could put yourself somewhere in a relaxed state before you ever got there. And you could start imagining what would happen, whether it be during a game or not during a game and kind of see the world is it's gonna happen before it happens and then make it happen.

[Jonathan Walton]

So while the fans are screaming and coaches are barking orders, Eric gets quiet, goes inside himself, and maps out what to do next.

[Eric Kramer]

It was the calmest I'd ever been while things were happening. So Kevin Wildenhaus, he was the glove that all the other fingers finally fit into.

[Jonathan Walton]

Add to that, Eric Kramer has a drive and a determination that goes far beyond most other athletes. For instance, in 1990, when he gets dumped by his agent after being cut from the team he was playing for at the time, the Calgary Stampeders, Eric's future looks bleak and his prospects are non existent. No agent wants to sign him, and it really, really looks like his career in the NFL is over. But instead of quitting football and giving up agents be damned, Eric actually picks up the phone himself and makes calls to all 28 teams in the NFL offering them his services as quarterback.

[Eric Kramer]

I would call the main number and, you know, ask to speak to their, I don't know, scouting department. Whoever answered the phone was like, sure, we'll connect you with them. You know, no one ever picked up, or if they did, they're like, okay, thanks. It was kind of my last ditch effort, really.

[Jonathan Walton]

And all those teams pretty much ignore Eric Kramer. You can hardly blame them. That's Just not how the NFL works. You can't randomly call up a team and tell them you're available and expect them to hire you. And yet, out of the 28 phone.

[Eric Kramer]

Calls Eric makes, the Lions were the one team that called me back.

[Jonathan Walton]

And in 1991, Eric becomes starting quarterback for the Detroit Lions. I mean, it was just serendipitous, I.

[Eric Kramer]

Guess, you know, I mean, it's just somehow meant to be. I don't know. Too many guys have called their way onto a team.

[Jonathan Walton]

Another really fascinating moment in Eric's NFL career happens when he's playing for the Chicago Bears.

[Eric Kramer]

It was, I don't know, game four or five or something in 1994. And I come out of that game with a separated shoulder, my right shoulder.

[Jonathan Walton]

And Eric is in tremendous pain. As a right handed quarterback, having a separated right shoulder means he can no longer throw a football, like at all. But Eric hires this magical guru herbalist guy who reportedly helps NFL great Joe Montana heal his throwing arm after he was badly injured. So Eric flies this herbalist out to Chicago, and he sets up shop in Eric's kitchen. He's got all kinds of weird potions and powders and ingredients that he's mixing up. And it smells like the stench of death.

[Eric Kramer]

He's over the stove eventually cooking something in there that's, I don't know. He tells me there's deer tendon and there's other kind of stuff in here. And I was like, I didn't think twice about it. I'm like, all right, great. And he's like, here, drink this.

[Jonathan Walton]

The herbalist hands Eric a cup of this death smelling swill, this deer tendon du jour. And Eric gulps it down because he's desperate to get his throwing arm back at this point. And he'll try anything. Lo and behold, a couple hours later, Eric's shoulder actually feels fine. The pain is gone.

[Eric Kramer]

I'm out in the backyard now throwing to him. And it was feeling really good. Literally throwing passes in the backyard.

[Jonathan Walton]

With a separated shoulder.

[Eric Kramer]

With a separated shoulder that dow doesn't hurt. So there was some time there that like, I, okay, this is actually gonna work. I can go practice tomorrow.

[Jonathan Walton]

So Eric goes to bed that night feeling great. But the next morning, he wakes up and kneels at the altar of the porcelain God and barfs his guts out.

[Eric Kramer]

I throw everything up, and I couldn't feel worse, like sick.

[Jonathan Walton]

And Eric's shoulder pain is back with a vengeance.

[Eric Kramer]

So apparently it wasn't as magical as it may have seemed at first. My Shoulder. Whatever little glimmer of hope I had thinking I could play with this thing, I couldn't.

[Jonathan Walton]

Eric Kramer endures a lot of stops and starts like that and a lot of highs and lows during his storied thrills 13 year professional football career. Though it's not until he's recovering from a traumatic brain injury that a tall blonde con artist, she was a gold digger named Courtney Baird.

[Dylan Kramer]

Well, first of all, I don't call her Courtney. To me her name is.

[Jonathan Walton]

Sinks her hooks into a severely brain damaged Eric Kramer.

[Anna Durgan]

We're just looking for him to get better. Get better, get better. Do your treatment, go in. He was, he was being treated every day, five days a week. We would not think that anybody would be coming in here and trying to steal from him. That would just be cruel.

[Jonathan Walton]

But to understand how a devious con woman can gain access and control of a mentally infirmed Eric Kramer, you have to understand the root cause of Eric's brain injury and the clear and present danger of playing professional of football. This morning, a devastating blow to the NFL. 99% of deceased players brains examined in a new study showed signs of cte, a degenerative brain disease linked to repeated hits to the head. This is much more common in football players than we previously anticipated. CTE, or chronic traumatic encephalopathy is a brain disease that causes depression, anxiety, mood changes, memory loss, erratic behavior and a host of other neurological disorders.

[Dr. Mark Kerner]

There's been a number of football players that have committed suicide, right. That have had these brain injuries. And it's been described as this repeated head trauma.

[Jonathan Walton]

In his line of work, I'm a.

[Dr. Mark Kerner]

Head and neck surgeon, maxillofacial trauma surgeon in Northridge, California.

[Jonathan Walton]

Dr. Mark Kerner sees brain injury every single day.

[Dr. Mark Kerner]

CTE is neurotrauma, brain trauma that's from repeated injury to the head. So repeated blows to the head and it was first described in football players by a pathologist. The theory is, is from repeated blows to the head, as football players get it causes this prolonged and profound brain damage that was initially very difficult to diagnose but now can be seen on autopsy. So it has some very characteristic findings on pathology correlated with their pre death behavior. And I'm a big huge football fan. I watch it every weekend. When you see these guys hit the turf with their helmet, you know that's a blow too. And even though they don't have quote unquote, a concussion, I mean they hit their heads pretty hard on this turf, even on the grass. And you just like oof. I always Cross cringe when I see that. So it's not only just a blow to the head, but it's these swipes, it's these hitting the ground hard. It's all these things. And I think the helmets have improved dramatically, even though it doesn't reduce the severity of these injuries to zero. We still see a lot of players get concussions.

[Jonathan Walton]

And I've seen the imaging of the head getting hit and you see just the brain just sloshes around. It's like a. It's like a car accident in your head.

[Dr. Mark Kerner]

Yeah, so exactly what's happening is the brain's encased in a pretty tight cavity. And just like you said, as it gets, it goes hits from side to side, you get shearing of neurons. And that shearing trauma not only probably kills off some neurons, but creates sort of micro scarring in the brain in different areas of the brain, which results in the symptoms and the memory loss and maybe even the depression and some of the other psychiatric type diseases that comes with that and the behavioral changes and impulse control that football players who have been known to suffer from have. And I think the NFL is trying to deal with it. That's why they have the neurotrauma specialists on the sidelines. And you know, it's basically from having repeated concussions.

[Jonathan Walton]

But the symptoms of CTE are many and they can really wreak havoc in a person's life.

[Dylan Kramer]

It's akin to like a personality disorder. And it's like where one second everything's fine and then the next it's. It's not, it's like turbulent in that way.

[Jonathan Walton]

That's 26 year old Dylan Kramer, Eric's son.

[Dylan Kramer]

My dad was my hero growing up and I wanted to be just like him. I always looked up to him, to the way that he went about doing things that, you know, he would set a goal and then stick to it with a high level of discipline.

[Jonathan Walton]

You really do look a lot like your dad.

[Dylan Kramer]

Yeah, I know.

[Jonathan Walton]

Do you get that a lot? You got the Eric Kramer face.

[Dylan Kramer]

Yeah, I get that a lot.

[Jonathan Walton]

What's it like being the son of an NFL quarterback?

[Dylan Kramer]

You know, it was definitely an excuse to get picked first in whatever sport.

[Jonathan Walton]

They thought, you're Eric Kramer's kid, you must be good.

[Dylan Kramer]

Yeah.

[Eric Kramer]

And they pick you.

[Dylan Kramer]

Yeah. So like a year or two before high school, I kind of gave up football and picked up lacrosse. And I was really happy I did that at the time because I. I was tired of dealing with all the expectations and stuff to be good at football and whatnot wow.

[Jonathan Walton]

You know, I never thought of that.

[Dylan Kramer]

Yeah.

[Eric Kramer]

Yeah.

[Jonathan Walton]

So I guess they do expect you because you're like this big guy. You look like Eric Kramer. You must be a good quarterback or you must be good at football.

[Dylan Kramer]

Right, Right, exactly.

[Jonathan Walton]

So that's a lot of pressure.

[Dylan Kramer]

Yeah. Oh, yeah, 1,000%. Just to make it clear, my dad never put pressure on me to play football or anything like that. I think he experienced that from his family growing up, and he didn't want that for his kids. So he did a great job of not doing that.

[Jonathan Walton]

Like, you were free to pursue anything, anything you want to be. He supported you.

[Dylan Kramer]

Anything. For a little bit there. I wanted to be a pilot. So on one of my birthdays, he got me a flying lesson.

[Jonathan Walton]

Oh, like a pilot? Like an airline pilot or like a jet fighter? In the. In the military. In the US Air Force.

[Dylan Kramer]

Like, somehow, some way, we had gotten to go to a legitimate flight simulator at some military base. But I was almost autistic in the sense. Like, I knew every plane that was around. Oh, wow. I knew, like, all their specifications, all, like, everything like that. So I was really into it, and he very much fostered that.

[Jonathan Walton]

Dylan is just 10 years old at that point, but as the years pass, he notices drastic changes in his dad's personality. This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever think about switching insurance companies to see if you could save some cash? Progressive makes it easy to see if you could save when you bundle your home and auto policies. Try [e-mail] Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Potential savings will vary. Not available in all states. Do you blame CTE for what happened to your dad?

[Dylan Kramer]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. In a huge ass. In a. And I think it's the biggest factor.

[Jonathan Walton]

You can totally say huge ass, dude. In a huge ass way.

[Dylan Kramer]

In a huge ass way. That is easily the biggest factor, in my opinion. Yeah, because I. I think that affected his ability to connect with people like his family, his son, both sons, you know, and that was kind of a hard thing for me to sort of grasp. I definitely think CTE is the biggest contributor by far. I don't think that he was aware of what was going on. I genuinely don't. I think he was trying his absolute hardest to figure it out, like, going to a bunch of different doctors and professional help and all that sort of stuff. And, you know, obviously nothing really worked. And, yeah, I think. I think CTE is a huge reason for that, for sure.

[Jonathan Walton]

And it was during the height of his NFL career that Eric Kramer starts Becoming sort of a different person, listening. Head trauma is a hell of a thing. And in Eric's life, violent hits to the head start young. Looking back, it's hard to even calculate just how many times Eric is either hit in the head by another player or how many times his head actually hits the ground during a tackle.

[Eric Kramer]

Without having to go back and do all the research, I would say 500. Wouldn't seem like a lot.

[Anna Durgan]

Well, you're also talking during practices as well.

[Jonathan Walton]

That's Anna Durgan. She went to high school with Eric, and she's known him and watched him play since they were both teenagers.

[Anna Durgan]

How many days of practice did you.

[Eric Kramer]

Get in and get hit?

[Anna Durgan]

Youth football, high school and stuff, but. But in college, too, during practices, because you're trying. Everyone's trying to make the team, right? So you're gonna try extra hard, harder, and you're gonna hit that ground. And that's what I always kept saying. It wasn't the little concussions. It's that hits that he. When he fell to the ground. Your neck hitting the ground, your neck, head hitting the ground. I don't care if you have that helmet or not. I would say it's well over 2,3000.

[Jonathan Walton]

3000 hits to the head over a person's lifetime is inordinately damaging.

[Eric Kramer]

Not to mention there's all kinds of ways for your head to get hit. It could be slammed on the ground. It could be a helmet to helmet with somebody else. It could be someone's knee to your head who's trying to jump over you but don't quite get over you. There was only one time I was ever knocked out, and that was in high school, playing safety. And my helmet, while playing safety, hit someone else on offense, and I got knocked out. So if you would have asked me 10 years ago how many concussions you had, I would have said one. But knowing what we know now and what constitutes a concussion, I would say many more than that.

[Jonathan Walton]

And the cumulative effect of all those concussions and all that brain trauma sneaks up on Eric Kramer. One day, his brain just stops working, right? And suddenly, for the first time in his life, depression hits him hard, seemingly out of nowhere.

[Eric Kramer]

Depression, when it seizes you, it by definition draws you inward. It does the opposite of what you would think. It kind of takes your whole perspective of this aerial view of your life, and it shrinks it down into the size of a keyhole. And then sometimes there's not much light in there.

[Jonathan Walton]

Now, Eric Kramer has always been a fighter. He's always persevered through tough times, and he's always found victory on the other side. Remember, this is a guy who, after his team and his agent dump him, and he has every reason in the world to wallow in self defeat and pity. He gets up, dusts himself off, and makes personal phone calls to 28 different teams and actually gets picked up by one of them. So Eric Kramer has a documented history of pushing through hard Times. But in 1994, when he's playing for the Chicago Bears, something changes in Eric Kramer's brain.

[Eric Kramer]

I kind of lost this sense of. I don't know if purpose is the.

[Jonathan Walton]

Right word at this point. Eric has sustained thousands of hits to the head over the years. Playing football in high school, in college, then playing for the New Orleans Saints, the Atlanta Falcons, the Calgary Stampeders, the Detroit Lions, and now playing for the Chicago Bears.

[Eric Kramer]

It's a tough hill to climb, and now the whole world's watching. If you're told to walk across a line, right, you can do that, no problem. But now you put that line up 500ft in the air and it's the same line. But the consequences are all different if you misstep.

[Jonathan Walton]

Eric had a bad game playing for the Bears against the Green Bay packers, and he blamed himself for everything that went wrong in that game. And suddenly, through the lens of depression, that loss eclipses everything else in his world. And his outlook on life changes in that instant. And things get really, really dark.

[Eric Kramer]

I all of a sudden felt like, okay, here I was scrapping, scratching and clawing just to even be here. Well, now I am here. And now I'm not even holding up my end of the bargain. And so coming in every day, I was just strange in that way. And it was hard for me to walk around with much confidence knowing that I was brought in here to do something that I'm now no longer doing. And even when I was doing it, I wasn't doing it all that well. And so I think that's when it first sort of struck me as that feeling of anxiousness. You know, like, do I have to look people in the eye today? And then eventually that led to me not even wanting to get out of bed. And that's the first experience I'd ever had with feeling that way. But it doesn't go away. So it's not like, oh, it's here today and then I'll sleep it off, it'll be gone tomorrow. No, no, it's here for a day and then another, and then another and a week and then another. Week. Maybe it's here for good. And this is how I'm going to go the rest of my life. That's the first time I'd ever experienced anything like that. And so it was hard. It was just. It was hard to be anywhere. It was hard to be anywhere that wasn't bad. Even bed didn't feel good. Eating didn't feel good. Nothing. No conversation. It's not like somebody could say, hey, Eric, here's something to think about. This will make you feel all better. Nope, I didn't have either.

[Jonathan Walton]

That was back in 1994. Eric would start battling depression on and off for the next 20 years. Sometimes through counseling and medication, Eric's depression gets better and everything seems to be going okay. But a series of unforeseen tragic events pushes Eric Kramer to the brink. And he finds himself sitting in a motel room, the Good Night Inn, with a loaded gun pointing to his head.

[Anna Durgan]

The thought of him taking his life didn't even, never even cross my mind.

[Jonathan Walton]

When Eric Kramer pulls the trigger that day back In August of 2015, the bullet explodes out of that gun, rips through his skull and comes out the other end. There's blood everywhere. On the wall, on the bed, on the nightstand. There are chunks of flesh and bone strewn all over. Parts of Eric Kramer's head are literally blown away off. But here's the thing. Eric shockingly survives. And that actually creates a unique opportunity for a crafty con woman to insert herself into Eric's life and rob him blind.

[Anna Durgan]

There's 80 pictures or so of her at the ATM machine in a two.

[Jonathan Walton]

Month time span with his ATM card.

[Anna Durgan]

His ATM card hard.

[Jonathan Walton]

If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts or crisis, please reach out immediately to the suicide prevention lifeline by calling or texting 988. If you're enjoying the Quarterback and the Con Artist, click that share button right now and text it to your friends and family. And if you can, leave us a five. The Quarterback and the Con Artist is produced, written and hosted by me, Jonathan Walton for Jonathan Walton Media Executive producers Eric Kramer and Anna Durgan. Audio engineering by Justin Longer Beam editing and sound design by Zach Hirsch, Legal counsel provided by Ken Sterling from Sterling Media Law. We've got a lot of incredible stories in the works at Jonathan Walton Media. So make sure you subscribe and keep an ear out.

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