Brandon Kemar Browner (born August 2, 1984) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who played as a

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) for the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

, and

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

, and in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL) for the

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium a ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Oregon State Beavers The Oregon State Beavers are the sport, athletic teams that represent Oregon State University, located in Corvallis, Oregon. The Beavers compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I (NCAA Division I ...

before signing with the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

in 2005. Browner spent four seasons with the Stampeders in the CFL, where he was a three-time CFL All-Star and won a

Grey Cup The Grey Cup () is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested between the winners ...

championship in 2008. He signed with the

prior to the 2011 season, where he became a founding member of the Legion of Boom defense. In

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

he led the Seahawks with six interceptions and made the 2012 Pro Bowl, the only one of his career. After winning the

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...

with Seattle in 2013 and the New England Patriots in 2014, Browner became one of the few players to win consecutive Super Bowls as a member of two different teams. In 2018, Browner was arrested for attempted murder, for which he was sentenced to eight years in prison.

Early life

Browner was a Prep Star West All-Region and All-Valley Mission League selection at Sylmar High School (northern area of

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

) as a

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

. He also earned Mission League MVP honors. As a junior, Browner played at James Monroe High School in North Hills, Los Angeles. During his prep career, he competed as a receiver where he accounted for 1,726 career yards and 24 touchdowns, and on defense as a cornerback where he recorded 16 career interceptions. As a senior, he also returned three punts for touchdowns. Browner also lettered in

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

at James Monroe, competing in the high jump, triple jump and 200 meters.

College career

Browner played in college for

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate degree programs and a variety of graduate and doctor ...

. Browner redshirted in 2002 at Oregon State. He then went on to start in every game he played in for the Beavers. Browner was named to the Freshman All-America teams by the Football Writers Association and The Sporting News in 2003. He was chosen Pac-10 Conference Freshman of the Year and was a member of the All-Pac-10 second-team. He ranked ninth in the nation with six interceptions and recorded 43 tackles (37 solo) with six pass breakups, two forced fumbles and three stops for losses as a redshirt freshman. He helped the program weather the 2002 departures of Dennis Weathersby, Calvin Carlyle and Terrell Roberts. Browner added All-America and All-Pac-10 Conference honors from The NFL Draft Report in 2004. Lining up at right cornerback, he regularly faced the opponent's top receiver. Browner recorded 44 tackles (37 solo) with a sack, nine pass deflections and a blocked kick in 2004. He finished his two-year collegiate career with 87 tackles (74 solo), a 2-yard sack, five stops for losses of 16 yards, two forced fumbles, 15 pass deflections, six interceptions for 74 yards in returns, and a touchdown.

Professional career

Denver Broncos

Browner was signed as an undrafted free agent by the

in 2005. However, Browner fractured his left forearm August 20 against

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, was placed on injured reserve on August 25, 2005, and he missed the entire 2005 season before being waived on July 24, 2006.

Calgary Stampeders

Browner signed with the

in 2006. His speed and competitive effort made him a fan favorite in his time with the team. He won the

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

with Calgary and was named a CFL All-Star for the season. Browner was also selected to the CFL All-Star team after the 2009 season.

Seattle Seahawks (first stint)

Browner signed with the

and started every game of the 2011 season. Highlights of that season included a Seattle-record 94-yard interception return against the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

in a Week 5 victory and two interceptions in a win against Vince Young and the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

on December 1, 2011. Browner was suspended for four games in 2012 for violating the NFL's performance-enhancing drug policy for using a prescription drug. Despite this setback, Browner was added to the 2012 Pro Bowl roster as a replacement for an injured Carlos Rogers. On December 18, 2013, the NFL erroneously reported Browner was facing an indefinite suspension for again violating the NFL's performance-enhancing drug rules. The suspension kept him from playing in

Super Bowl XLVIII Super Bowl XLVIII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion 2013 Denver Broncos season, Denver Broncos and National Football Conference (NFC) champion 2013 Seattle Seahawks season, Seattle Seahawks to ...

against the

. Without Browner, the Seahawks won the Super Bowl 43–8 to give the franchise their first championship. The suspension was later changed to reflect a substance abuse issue related to missing drug tests during the time Browner was unsigned by an NFL team and played football in the CFL, prior to the Seahawks contract. On March 4, 2014, he was officially reinstated by the NFL. His suspension was reduced to the first four games of the 2014 season.

New England Patriots

On March 14, 2014, Browner signed with the

on a three-year, $17 million contract. After serving his 4-game suspension, Browner was inactive for the next 2 games. He made his season debut in week 7 against the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

, where Browner recorded a tackle. Browner finished the season with 25 tackles and an interception in 9 games. He helped the Patriots win

Super Bowl XLIX Super Bowl XLIX was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2014 NFL season, 2014 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion 2014 New England Patriots season, New Eng ...

over his former team, the

28–24. In the Super Bowl, Browner recorded three tackles. With 26 seconds left, he blocked Jermaine Kearse on a pick play on second and goal from the one yard line, enabling Malcolm Butler to make the game-sealing interception. At the start of free agency, the Patriots did not pick up a $2 million roster bonus due to him, making him a free agent eligible to sign with any team.

New Orleans Saints

On March 12, 2015, Browner signed with the

. In September, he was elected as one of the defensive team captains (along with Cameron Jordan). Browner finished with 76 tackles and 1 interception. Browner's year in New Orleans was not a successful one: he ended the season rated as one of the least effective cornerbacks in the league, and received more penalties for the season than any player in the league since this statistic began tracking in 1999. On February 2, 2016, Browner tweeted that the Saints were going to release him. On March 10, Browner was released. In late May 2016, Browner received attention when he responded to criticism from a Saints fan on

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about his performance and salary, stating that he "took that few millions (and) ran with it" when he left the Saints.

Seattle Seahawks (second stint)

On April 17, 2016, Browner signed a one-year deal for the veteran minimum salary ($760,000) with his former team, the

, reforming the original Legion of Boom. Seahawks head coach

Pete Carroll Peter Clay Carroll (born September 15, 1951) is an American professional American football, football coach who is the head coach for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as head coach for the NCAA's ...

stated Browner would play a different role than the previous stint with the Seahawks as a hybrid corner/safety/linebacker in the nickel package. However, the Seahawks released Browner on August 29, after the team's third preseason game.

Flag football

In 2018, Browner was a member of the Roadrunners led by retired quarterback

Michael Vick Michael Dwayne Vick (born June 26, 1980) is an American college football coach and former player who is the Head coach, head football coach at Norfolk State Spartans football, Norfolk State University. He played quarterback in the National F ...

as part of the American Flag Football League.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

In 2015 Browner led the NFL in penalties committed during the regular season, and was 2nd in 2011 and 2014.

Seahawks franchise records

* Most interception yards returned (season): 220 (2011)

Legal convictions

In May 2017, Browner was arrested by

police for possession of

cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...

and being under the influence. On July 8, 2018, Browner was arrested by La Verne police for breaking and entering into the residence of a woman with whom he once had a relationship, and fleeing the scene after stealing a

Rolex Rolex () is a Swiss watch brand and manufacturer based in Geneva, Switzerland. Founded in 1905 as ''Wilsdorf and Davis'' by German businessman Hans Wilsdorf and his eventual brother-in-law Alfred Davis in London, the company registered ''Rolex ...

within the home. Two days later, he was officially charged with attempted murder and three other felonies. On December 4, 2018, Browner was sentenced to eight years in prison after pleading no contest to an attempted murder charge. Browner is now serving his sentence at

San Quentin State Prison San Quentin Rehabilitation Center (SQ), formerly known as San Quentin State Prison, is a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation state prison for men, located north of San Francisco in the unincorporated area, unincorporated place ...

. He became eligible for parole in November 2023.

References

External links

Calgary Stampeders bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Browner, Brandon 1984 births Living people Players of American football from Los Angeles American football cornerbacks Canadian football defensive backs Oregon State Beavers football players Calgary Stampeders players Denver Broncos players Seattle Seahawks players New England Patriots players New Orleans Saints players National Conference Pro Bowl players American sportspeople convicted of crimes 21st-century American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen Players of Canadian football from Los Angeles American Flag Football League players