Podcast Summary

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

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.

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)

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)

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

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.