Todd Scott Sauerbrun (; born January 4, 1973) is a former American college and professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player who was a punter in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) for thirteen seasons. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

for

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Beckley, Potomac State College ...

, and was recognized as an All-American. He was drafted by the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

in the second round of the

1995 NFL Draft The 1995 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 22–23, 1995 at the Paramount Th ...

, and also played for the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

and

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

of the NFL, and the

Florida Tuskers Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to th ...

of the United Football League (UFL).

Early years

Sauerbrun was born and raised on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

, in

Setauket, New York Setauket is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Brookhaven, Suffolk County, New York, United States, on the North Shore of Long Island. As of the 2010 United States census The United States census of 2010 was the twe ...

. He attended

Ward Melville High School Ward Melville High School is a public high school in the Three Village Central School District of Suffolk County, New York on Long Island, serving grades ten through twelve. It is fed by the two junior high schools in the district: Paul J. ...

in East Setauket, and was a letterman in football and lacrosse. In football, as a senior, he averaged 45.1 yards per punt and kicked a field goal of 62 yards on October 27, 1990 (still the New York State high school record). In lacrosse, he was a high school U.S. Lacrosse All-America selection. He still holds the Ward Melville record for leading midfield scorer with 109 goals and 24 assists for 133 points.

College career

Sauerbrun attended West Virginia University, where he was a punter for the

West Virginia Mountaineers football The West Virginia Mountaineers football team represents West Virginia University (also referred to as "WVU" or "West Virginia") in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of college football. West Virginia plays its home games at Milan Puskar ...

team from 1991 to 1994. He was a first-team All-

Big East Conference The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in ten men's sports and twelve women's sports. Headquartered in New York City, the eleven full-member schools are primarily located in Northeast and M ...

selection in 1992, 1993, and 1994, and an honorable mention All-American in 1992 and 1993. As a senior in 1994, he set an NCAA record with a 48.4-yard punting average, and was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American.

Professional career

He was drafted by the

56th overall in the

. He spent five seasons with the Bears, and is ranked second on the team in all-time punting average. Sauerbraun tore his ACL in the third game of the 1998 season and missed the rest of the year. He was injured after a Tampa Bay Buccaneers player landed on his leg after a punt that drew a roughing the punter penalty. He spent the 2000 season with the

, and was signed by the

before the 2001 season. Sauerbrun achieved both his greatest success and biggest problems while with Carolina. He was picked for the

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

to represent the

NFC NFC may refer to: Psychology * Need for cognition, in psychology * Need for closure, social psychological term Sports * NFC Championship Game, the National Football Conference Championship Game * NCAA Football Championship (Philippines) * Nati ...

in the 2002, 2003, and 2004 seasons. Sauerbrun also became the first player from either conference since the AFL-NFL Merger in 1970 to lead his conference in gross punting average for three consecutive seasons (2001–2003). However, during the 2004 season, the Panthers were riddled with injuries, and at one point, starting

placekicker Placekicker, or simply kicker (PK or K), is the player in gridiron football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals and extra points. In many cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist or punter. Spe ...

John Kasay John David Kasay (born October 27, 1969) is a former American football kicker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 21 seasons, primarily with the Carolina Panthers. He played college football at Georgia and was selected by the Se ...

suffered a leg injury, and the Panthers were forced to use Sauerbrun to replace Kasay. Sauerbrun refused to kick unless he was reimbursed for fines he incurred when he was overweight. In December 2004, he was charged with

driving under the influence Driving under the influence (DUI)—also called driving while impaired, impaired driving, driving while intoxicated (DWI), drunk driving, operating while intoxicated (OWI), operating under the influence (OUI), operating vehicle under the infl ...

, and he was named in an investigation of

steroids A steroid is a biologically active organic compound with four rings arranged in a specific molecular configuration. Steroids have two principal biological functions: as important components of cell membranes that alter membrane fluidity; and a ...

use in the NFL linked to a South Carolina doctor during the 2004 season. 's NFL off-season, Todd Sauerbrun held at least 10 Panthers franchise records, including: * Punts: season (104 in 2002), game (11 on 2002-12-22 CHI), playoff season (21 in 2003), playoff game (7 on 2004-02-01 NNWE; with 2 others) * Punt Yards: season (4,735 in 2002), playoff season (910 in 2003) * Yards / Punt: career (45.54), playoffs (43.33), playoff season (43.33 in 2003), playoff game (48.4 on 2004-01-03 DAL) On May 19, 2005, Sauerbrun was traded to the

for punter

Jason Baker Jason Michael Baker (born May 17, 1978) is a former American football punter. He was signed by the San Francisco 49ers as an undrafted free agent in 2001. He played college football at Iowa. He has also played for the Philadelphia Eagles, Kans ...

and a 7th round draft pick in the 2006 draft. On July 7, 2006, Sauerbrun was suspended for the first four games of the NFL season after testing positive for the banned dietary supplement

ephedra Ephedra may refer to: * Ephedra (medicine), a medicinal preparation from the plant ''Ephedra sinica'' * ''Ephedra'' (plant), genus of gymnosperm shrubs See also * Ephedrine Ephedrine is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is of ...

. On October 17, 2006, the day he was supposed to come back from his suspension, Denver cut him in favor of punter

Paul Ernster Paul T. Ernster (born January 26, 1982) is a former American football punter. He was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the seventh round of the 2005 NFL Draft. He played college football in Northern Arizona. Ernster has also been a member of th ...

. One of Sauerbrun's most notable NFL career moments occurred during the AFC Divisional Playoffs on January 14, 2006, when, in a rare move for a team punter, he managed to tackle

returner

Ellis Hobbs Ellis Hue Hobbs III (born May 16, 1983) is a former American football cornerback who played for six seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for Iowa State. He was drafted by the New England Patriots in the third ...

after his own kickoff and forced a fumble, which was recovered by teammate

Cecil Sapp Cecil Sapp (born December 23, 1978) is a former American football Fullback (American football), fullback. He was signed by the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent in 2003. He played college football at Colorado State Rams football, Colorado ...

. This eventually led to a Broncos field goal, which helped Denver defeat the Patriots 27-13, ending New England's bid for three consecutive

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...

victories. Sauerbrun was signed by the Patriots on December 22, 2006 to a one-year contract that gave them the right to match any contract he signed the next offseason. On April 3, 2007, the

signed Sauerbrun to a one-year contract. However, a week later, the Patriots announced their decision to match Denver's offer to Sauerbrun. Shortly thereafter, the

NFL Players Association The National Football League Players Association, or NFLPA, is a labor union representing National Football League (NFL) players. The NFLPA, which has headquarters in Washington, D.C., is led by president J. C. Tretter and executive director DeM ...

filed a grievance on behalf of Sauerbrun regarding the details of the contract he signed with New England in 2006. On April 18, 2007, it was announced that Sauerbrun would once again be a free agent. Sauerbrun re-signed with the Denver Broncos on April 19, 2007. Prior to facing the

, Sauerbrun stated that he would kick to

Devin Hester Devin Devorris Hester Sr. (born November 4, 1982) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver and return specialist in the National Football League (NFL). He is widely regarded as the greatest return specialist i ...

, who was well known for his success as a

kick A kick is a physical Strike (attack), strike using the leg, in unison usually with an area of the knee or lower using the foot, heel, tibia (shin), ball of the foot, blade of the foot, toes or knee (the latter is also known as a knee (strike), ...

and punt returner. Sauerbrun stated, "We're going after it. We're not going to kick away from him. Hey, we respect him and he's the best, but we have guys on our coverage teams that are paid to make big tackles." Hester responded by returning both a punt and kick-off for touchdowns.Seligman, Andrew
Chicago 37, Denver 34, OT
(November 25, 2007), Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved on December 24, 2007. Sauerbrun attempted to tackle Hester on both returns, but failed. Later in the game, Sauerbrun had a punt blocked by

Charles Tillman Charles Anthony Tillman (born February 23, 1981), nicknamed Peanut,Donnelly, MikeCharles Tillman - Not Your Typical 'Peanut'(January 18, 2007), nflplayers.com, Retrieved on July 25, 2007. is an American former professional football player who ...

while attempting to kick away from Hester.

Keith Olbermann Keith Theodore Olbermann (; born January 27, 1959) is an American sports and political commentator and writer. Olbermann spent the first 20 years of his career in sports journalism. He was a sports correspondent for CNN and for local TV and r ...

, a commentator and anchor for

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

, awarded Sauerbrun with his dubious "Worst Person in the NFL Award", for challenging Hester and failing to stop him. On December 18, 2007, the Denver Broncos released Sauerbrun for a second time after he was arrested by Denver police during an altercation with a taxi driver. Sauerbrun was signed by the

of the United Football League on September 9, 2009.

References

External links

New England Patriots bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sauerbrun, Todd 1973 births Living people All-American college football players American football punters Carolina Panthers players Chicago Bears players Denver Broncos players Florida Tuskers players Kansas City Chiefs players National Conference Pro Bowl players New England Patriots players People from Long Island Ward Melville High School alumni West Virginia Mountaineers football players People from Setauket, New York People from East Setauket, New York