Fred Warner

Warner was raised in San Marcos, California, by his mother, Laura, who raised him and his two siblings as a single parent after separating from his father when Warner was a toddler. He is of Mexican American descent through his mother and African and Panamanian descent through his father. His younger brother, Troy Warner, also played college football as a defensive back at BYU, where the two brothers were roommates before Troy signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2021.

On June 25, 2022, Warner married television personality and former The Bachelor contestant Sydney Hightower. Warner completed his college education by earning a bachelor's degree in exercise and wellness from Brigham Young University.

Warner attended Mission Hills High School in San Marcos, where he took up football at age seven. As a junior outside linebacker, he became a varsity starter and was named the All-San Diego Section Defensive Player of the Year, the Avocado East League Defensive Player of the Year, and earned All-California First-team honors from USA Today. A family friend and fellow member of his church congregation sent Warner's highlight reel to Brigham Young University, helping secure his recruitment by lead recruiter Kelly Poppinga.

At BYU, Warner played in 49 games with 42 starts between 2014 and 2017. As a senior team captain, he led the Cougars in tackles and finished his collegiate career with 264 total tackles, 32 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks, and five fumble recoveries. His seven career interceptions tied Kyle Van Noy for the second-most in BYU program history among linebackers.

Selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the third round of the 2018 NFL draft with the 70th overall pick, Warner secured the starting middle linebacker role as a rookie under head coach Kyle Shanahan. In his NFL debut against the Minnesota Vikings, he recorded 12 combined tackles and a forced fumble, finishing his debut season with 124 tackles and becoming the first rookie since 2000 to record four consecutive double-digit tackle performances to open a career. Ahead of his second year, he changed his uniform number from 48 to 54 and played a central role in the 49ers' NFC championship run, recording an interception off Patrick Mahomes in Super Bowl LIV.

Warner earned multiple first-team All-Pro and Pro Bowl selections throughout his tenure with the 49ers, and teammates and coaches recognized his contributions with both the Len Eshmont Award and the Bill Walsh Award. In 2024, he became the first player in franchise history to record at least 10 career sacks and 10 career interceptions, while also climbing past Ahmad Brooks and Patrick Willis on the team's all-time forced fumbles leaderboard.

In the San Francisco Bay Area, Warner has taken part in multiple community outreach programs. He has partnered with local groups to host an annual Thanksgiving food drive in Walnut Creek, collecting non-perishable food to provide meals for families in need. Warner has also visited local schools to speak with students about youth mental health and emotional well-being in partnership with Counseling and Support Services for Youth (CASSY).

Through the NFL's annual My Cause My Cleats campaign, Warner has represented the COPD Foundation and Cancer CAREPOINT in memory of his grandmother. He has also supported the St. Baldrick's Foundation to raise funds for childhood cancer research and partnered with the Hispanic Scholarship Fund to help provide scholarships and career readiness programs for Latino students.