Former NFL quarterback Tommy Kramer announces he is suffering from dementia: “Please no pity”

MINNEAPOLIS – Former Minnesota Vikings quarterback Tommy Kramer has been diagnosed with dementia, he announced on social media.

Kramer, 69, who played 13 of his 14 NFL seasons with the Vikings and made the Pro Bowl after leading the league in passer rating in 1986, posted on his X-account on Wednesday that he was officially diagnosed with cognitive impairment just over a year ago at the Cleveland Clinic as part of a health and wellness program for former NFL players.

Kramer said he was inspired to speak out about his condition after Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre revealed during a congressional hearing on Tuesday that he has Parkinson's disease. Kramer said his doctors told him at his one-year checkup that the dementia had not progressed and that he had stopped drinking alcohol to help cope.

“Please no pity,” Kramer wrote. “I've lived a great life and wouldn't change a thing. No one wanted to win more than me and I never gave up, and that's exactly how I'm going to fight this.”

Kramer, a native of San Antonio, was drafted by the Vikings in the first round out of Rice in 1977. He earned the nickname “Two-Minute Tommy” for his late-game exploits, most famously his 46-yard Hail Mary pass for a touchdown in 1980 that was deflected and caught one-handed by Ahmad Rashad to cap a comeback victory over Cleveland that gave Minnesota the division title. Kramer threw for 456 yards and four touchdowns in that game.

Kramer is the second-leading passer in Vikings history, behind Hall of Famer Fran Tarkenton, but his career was largely punctuated by injuries. He became a starter in 1979, the only season in which he played in all 16 games. Kramer played his final NFL season in 1990 for New Orleans.