Bernie Kosar spent over a decade in the NFL with the Cleveland Browns, Dallas Cowboys, and Miami Dolphins. During that stretch, the former NFL quarterback took countless hits and collisions, sustaining multiple concussions that eventually led to numerous neurological issues. For most of his NFL career, Kosar struggled to sleep and began relying on certain medications, especially during the final stretch of his career with the Dolphins.
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Fast forward to now, and after overcoming a liver transplant, Parkinson’s disease, and dementia, Kosar sat down with Sage Steele and recalled the physical and mental toll his NFL career took on his health.
“One of the things that I used to talk about is 100-plus surgeries, 100-plus concussions, 100-plus broken bones, and stuff,” Kosar told Sage, “but I had 15 seizures, and the last couple of seizures, I was in a coma 72 and 96 hours, and I had one after I had a seizure in Chicago airport a couple of months after that game I was in a coma for 96 hours and I came out of that and the doctor in the Catholic hospital outside of the O-Hare airport came in after the 96th hour and he goes, ‘Man, you’re a tough guy. You made it. You’re doing great, but keep up with your prescriptions and protocols.’
“And I was on north of 100 pills a day at that point. Prescribed for 960 milligrams of OxyContin, over 100 milligrams of Adderall, and Vyvanse.”
It was back in 2025 that Bernie Kosar addressed the health issues he faced during his football career. In a 30-minute episode of NFL Films Presents, Kosar revealed that while quarterbacking for the Dolphins, he began taking the painkiller OxyContin after struggling to sleep, noting that he would sometimes go three to five days without any sleep. As Bernie himself put it at that time, “That was a very dark time.”
Kosar’s health issues escalated back in 2023 while he was attending a Browns game against the New York Jets. According to Kosar, his body essentially gave out, and at one point, he wondered how he would even make it back home. Then, things escalated further while he was traveling to Las Vegas to attend Super Bowl LVIII, leading to his hospitalization for several days.
At that time, Bernie Kosar was dealing with liver complications that eventually required a liver transplant. At the same time, however, Kosar was also diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, according to a 2024 Cleveland Magazine story. Now, during a conversation with Sage Steele, Kosar revealed how he struggled with both physical and neurological health issues in his post-retirement life.
“I was more Parkinsonian-sounding then, and I was more dementia sounding with limited memory 10 years ago,” Kosar told Sage. “So I really do believe you could regenerate and you could turn around. That’s a big statement to say you could regenerate, but I am at least slowing down the deterioration that was happening. And that’s, to me, been game-changing to just have my body back some, but then to have my mind back in the game.”
Since then, Kosar has undergone a successful liver transplant and regained his health. And according to Kosar, finding himself healthy again after battling multiple health issues was nothing short of a miracle.