Jay Cutler

Cutler played quarterback and safety at Heritage Hills High School in Lincoln City, Indiana. During his junior and senior seasons, the team compiled a 26-1 record, including a perfect 15-0 mark in his senior year, and won the school's first 3A state championship. In the title game, Cutler lateraled the ball to Cole Seifrig, received a pass back and ran for a touchdown.

He was also a first-team all-state basketball player and received honorable mention all-state recognition as a baseball shortstop. Cutler attended Vanderbilt University, where he became a four-year starter after redshirting his freshman season.

Cutler started all 45 games he played for the Vanderbilt Commodores, the most starts by a quarterback in school history at the time. In 2005, his final college season, he passed for 3,073 yards and 21 touchdowns and became the first Vanderbilt player to win SEC Offensive Player of the Year since 1967.

He finished his Vanderbilt career with school records for total offense, passing yards, completions, attempts, touchdown passes and combined touchdowns. His final college game was a 28-24 victory over Tennessee, Vanderbilt's first win over the Volunteers since 1982. Cutler graduated in 2005 with a bachelor's degree in human and organizational development and was inducted into the Vanderbilt Athletics Hall of Fame in 2016.

The Denver Broncos selected Cutler with the 11th pick in the first round of the 2006 NFL draft. He became Denver's starting quarterback late in his rookie season and recorded two wins in five appearances. In 2008, he passed for 4,526 yards and 25 touchdowns, earned his first Pro Bowl selection and led the AFC in passing yards.

Cutler was traded to the Chicago Bears in April 2009. He played eight seasons in Chicago and led the Bears to an 11-5 record, the NFC North title and an NFC Championship Game appearance in 2010. In the divisional playoff victory over Seattle, he became the second quarterback in NFL history since Otto Graham to record two passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns in a postseason game. Injuries affected several seasons, including a knee injury in the 2010 NFC Championship Game, a thumb injury in 2011, a groin injury in 2013 and a shoulder injury that ended his 2016 season.

Cutler holds numerous Chicago Bears passing records, including career passing yards, completions, attempts and touchdown passes. His professional association with Brandon Marshall was notable in both Denver and Chicago, where the two wide receiver-quarterback teammates were reunited in 2012.

After announcing his retirement in 2017, Cutler returned to play for the Miami Dolphins when Ryan Tannehill suffered a season-ending injury. Cutler started 14 games for Miami, including a win over Tom Brady and the New England Patriots, and finished his final NFL season with 2,666 passing yards, 19 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. He later joined Fox Sports as a commentator and became a panelist on Inside the NFL in 2023.

Cutler announced on May 1, 2008, that he had been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and required daily insulin injections. He continued playing professional football while managing the condition and worked with Dedicated to Diabetes, a Denver organization focused on diabetes education.

His NFL career also included several significant injuries. He suffered a concussion in 2010, fractured the thumb on his throwing hand in 2011, tore a groin muscle in 2013, injured his right thumb and shoulder in 2016, and sustained multiple cracked ribs and a concussion during the 2017 season.

Cutler married Kristin Cavallari on June 7, 2013, in Nashville, Tennessee. They have three children, two sons and one daughter, named Camden, Jaxon and Saylor. The couple announced their separation in 2020, and their divorce was finalized in 2022.

Cutler began dating Samantha Robertson in 2023, and their engagement was announced in 2024.

Cutler was arrested in Franklin, Tennessee, in October 2024 after a vehicle collision. He was charged with driving under the influence, possession of a handgun while under the influence, failure to exercise due care to avoid a collision and implied consent.

In August 2025, Cutler pleaded guilty to driving under the influence and was sentenced to four days in jail, one year of unsupervised probation, a $350 fine and a DUI safety class. Prosecutors dismissed the weapons possession charge, and his Tennessee driver's license was revoked.