Who Are Bryan Braman’s Parents? All About Elite Sprinter Mom Tina Braman-Fields

Bryan Braman had it written in the stars. Well almost. Braman is a 6’5″, 241-pound “athletic freak” who entered the NFL in 2011 as an undrafted free agent. The Texans signed him for a 3-year career that seemed destined. Born to be a pro athlete, Braman’s roots hinted at his potential. His maternal grandfather, Ivan Cecil Braman, towered at 7’4″ and weighed 365 pounds. The genes were there.

In high school, his track coaches saw Olympic potential in him. “He’s got breath-taking, jaw-dropping ability,” Bobby King, who worked with Braman at West Texas A&M and later in Houston, shared his thoughts on coaching him. “He can be a game-changer. He’s got the ability to make plays that will shoot a jolt through the whole crowd.” He blew past offensive linemen like they weren’t there. His speed and power made him a nightmare before he retired. But he did not coast in the league backed by privileges. It was due to his hardships and his mom’s love.

Who are Bryan Braman’s parents?

Bryan Braman was raised by his mother, Tina Braman-Fields. She was an elite high school sprinter. She was part of a four-girl state champion track team and held her school’s 100-meter record. Braman grew up without his father in the picture. His mother raised him alone. “My mother, she’s been my strength,” Braman said. “No matter if it put her out of a thing that she needed, she would do it for us. If there was ever a time that I needed help, it came from my mom; it wasn’t from my dad. That’s just how it played out.”

Tina Braman-Fields was the youngest of eight kids. Hand-me-down clothes were part of daily life. “When you sat down to eat dinner, you ate everything because you didn’t know if the next meal was going to be breakfast or dinner,” Braman-Fields said. “We just didn’t have much.” She had Bryan barely a year after finishing high school. At the time of his birth, he just weighed 10 pounds and 2 ounces. But life was tough from the start. Money was always tight in the family. It was also that Bryan was born in Hillyard, the arguably poorest part of Spokane. He, his mother, and later a younger sister had to move often, sleeping in Tina’s car. But Braman and his family kept their courage.

In his life’s phase, Braman dropped out of the University of Idaho. He had a football scholarship but never played in a single game. He also rarely went to class. Still, his journey back into the game was a grind. Despite the odds, Braman made it to the NFL. He suited up as a linebacker for the Texans.

“It’s hard for me to hold grudges. … I don’t know why he made the decisions that he made, but there was a lot more time that he wasn’t there than he was,” Braman said, referring to his father. The road to the pro game was tough for both Braman and his mom. When they stood outside Reliant Stadium, they both got emotional. That stadium had become Braman’s office. Their long road had led to the big stage.

A life of hardship

Before the glamour of the Big League, Braman had to endure the ultimate marker of hardship: homelessness. There was a time when the only bed he had was the backseat of his mother’s Buick LeSabre. He bounced between his mother’s car and his friend’s places. But that’s not all, during the time, his fraternal grandfather was dying of cancer, just like his other grandfather had five years earlier. He was struggling. “I was lost,” said Braman. His mother said he was depressed.

A high school counselor said he was haunted. At 6-foot-5 and about 250 pounds, with a sculpted frame and long, flowing hair, Bryan Braman looked like he belonged on a different level. But the reality was that Braman was on the streets. He was 18 and trying to survive.

In 2006, he wasn’t punching a clock from 9 to 5. His shifts ran from 2 p.m. to 5 a.m. He worked long hours, often with mandatory overtime, in a Spokane factory. That same factory had once employed his father, who had been in and out of his life. Braman worked five days a week, sometimes 16 or 17 hours a day, making concrete railroad ties. He earned $10 an hour. That was more than what he made picking apples in eighth grade. It was better than his pay at the pizza shop in 10th grade. It was also more than what he made from paper routes in high school at Shadle Park.

Still, the job was brutal. The “back-breaking labor” wore him down physically and crushed him mentally. It wasn’t the life he saw for himself. “It was just dirty work, and I didn’t want to do it no more,” Braman said. “I didn’t want to end up like so many in my family. I knew I could do more. Being bullheaded, stubborn-headed had got me here. But being bullheaded, stubborn-headed had got me nowhere.” Braman knew he needed a new game plan, and that’s when his focus shifted to the gridiron and his life with the franchise began. 

The former Eagles and Saints defensive end posted solid numbers with 56 total tackles, 1.5 sacks, and one defensive touchdown. It looked like he was building momentum, but his journey in the league ended in 2017. That year, he rejoined the Eagles. The team went on a Super Bowl run and defeated the Patriots 41–33 in Super Bowl LII. Braman recorded one tackle in that game. After stepping away from football, he now faces a new opponent. He is battling a rare form of cancer. The fight is no longer on the field, but it is just as real—a battle shared by others like retired Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw.