Brett Hartmann (born August 17, 1987) is a former

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

punter and

kickoff specialist A kickoff specialist is a special teams position in gridiron football. They are responsible for kicking the ball in the kickoff. These players tend to have a strong leg, often capable of making touchbacks, and capable of keeping a ball in the bou ...

. He was forced to retire after he suffered a career-ending knee injury. He was signed by the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

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 2011. 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 ...

Central Michigan University Central Michigan University (CMU) is a Public university, public research university in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, United States. It was established in 1892 as a private normal school and became a state institution in 1895. CMU is one of the eigh ...

Early years

Hartmann attended

Menomonee Falls High School Menomonee Falls High School is a four-year public high school located in the village of Menomonee Falls in Waukesha County, Wisconsin in the United States. It is a part of the Menomonee Falls School District. The district (and therefore the h ...

Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin Menomonee Falls is a village in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States. Its population was 38,527 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the most-populous village in Wisconsin. It is part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area. ...

and was a student and a letterman in football.

Professional career

Hartmann was eligible for the

2011 NFL draft The 2011 NFL draft was the 76th installment of the annual National Football League draft, NFL draft, where the franchises of the National Football League select newly eligible football players. Like the 2010 draft, the 2011 draft was held at Rad ...

but was not selected. He was signed with the

on July 28, 2011 as an undrafted free agent. He was released for the final roster cutdown, but was re-signed by the Texans after they released punter

Brad Maynard Bradley Alan Maynard (born February 9, 1974) is an American former professional football punter in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Ball State Cardinals, twice earning consensus All-American honors. Maynard ...

. After playing in every game for the Texans, Hartmann suffered a torn

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation. In ...

(ACL) against the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

on December 4, and was placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

on December 6, ending his season. On November 15, 2012, Hartmann sued the county agency that operates

Reliant Stadium NRG Stadium (previously known as Reliant Stadium) is a multi-purpose stadium in Houston, Texas, United States. Construction was completed in 2002, at a cost of $352 million and has a seating capacity of 72,220. It was the first NFL facility to h ...

, blaming "unsafe turf" for a possibly career-ending knee injury. In 2012, Hartmann was suspended for four games by the league for violating the league's substance policy, and was replaced by

Donnie Jones Donald Scott Jones Jr. (born July 5, 1980) is an American former professional American football, football Punter (gridiron football), punter who played in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the LSU Tigers footbal ...

. Hartmann's suspension was later reduced to three. Hartmann was released during pre-season cutdowns, and as a free agent, his suspension was extended by eight more games on September 24, 2012.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hartmann, Brett 1987 births Living people American football punters Houston Texans players 21st-century American sportsmen Sportspeople from Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin Players of American football from Waukesha County, Wisconsin