Brad Culpepper Bio: Wife, Son, Net Worth, Survivor & NFL

Brad Culpepper, aka John Broward, is an American former defensive tackle who played for nine seasons in NFL from the early 1990s to the early 2000s.

The Minnesota Vikings selected Culpepper in the 10th round as the 264^th overall pick of the 1992 NFL Draft.

Culpepper played college football for the Florida Gators, and while playing there, he was selected for the Consensus All-American first team.

Despite being a tenth-round pick, he started in most games during his time in NFL, where he played for teams such as Minnesota Vikings (1992-1993), Buccaneers (1994-1999) & the Bears (2000).

His most prominent career highlights are the 1991 Southeastern Conference Championship win, All-SEC first-team selection, the Draddy Trophy the same year, and his induction into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame (2001.)

Besides his professional career, Culpepper appeared on the American reality television show Survivor.

He appeared on two seasons of the show, Survivor: Blood vs. Water and Survivor: Game Changers. These appearances contributed to his stardom even more.

After retirement from NFL, he pursued a career as a lawyer & worked at Morgan & Morgan, a law firm, for five years

In March 2007, Brad opened up his law firm, Culpepper Kurland, and in 2024 still working for it.

Lets go through some quick facts before going into the article.

Quick Facts

Early Life, Family & Education

Brad Culpepper, full name John Broward “Brad” Culpepper, was born in Tallahassee, Florida, on May 8, 1969. His zodiac sign is Taurus.

He is the son of Bruce Culpepper, an alumnus of the University of Florida, who played as a center for the Gators football team from 1960 to 1962.

He even co-captained the 1962 Gator Bowl team. Later, he became a prominent Tallahassee attorney.

Following his father’s path, Brad became a standout prep player for the Leon Lions high school football team in Tallahassee, Florida.

Not much about Culpepper’s mother is known. Brad’s uncle, Blair Culpepper, played as a fullback for the Gators before becoming a bank president at Winter Park in Florida.

Even Brad’s grandfather, J. Broward Culpepper, who served as a chancellor at the State University System of Florida, was a University of Florida graduate.

Additionally, Brad has a sister named Blair, who is married to Brett Kurland, a lawyer.

Height & Weight

Brad Culpepper stands 1.85 m and weighs around 180 lb.

During his playing days, he had to manage a weight of around 280 lb. to enforce his authority on the football field as a defensive tackle.

After that, he lost around 100 pounds and admitted how challenging it is to maintain a heavyweight to be relevant on the field and the health issues it causes.

Above all, Culpepper is in the best shape and maintains good fitness.

He is currently 54 years old and has dark brown hair and blue eyes.

Career

College Career 

In this paragraph, we will learn much about Brad’s college career. The University of Florida, situated in Gainesville, Florida, offered Culpepper an athletic scholarship.

He played for the Florida Gators from 1988 to 1991 under coach Galen Hall and Steve Spurrier.

Culpepper finished his time on the college team with 47.5 tackles for a loss and 18 quarterback sacks.

During the Gators’ Southeastern Conference (SEC) championship, he was a standout performer at the defensive tackle position and the team captain.

This was his senior season in 1991, and as a result, he was selected for the first-team All-SEC and was a Consensus first-team All-American selection.

The player was named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll every year during his four years at the university.

Consequently, he was a first-team Academic All-American and received recognition as the most outstanding student-athlete in college football after receiving the Draddy Trophy.

Besides, Culpepper was also an active member of Sigma Chi Fraternity (A social organization) as a Florida undergraduate.

Life After Graduation 

Brad graduated from Florida high during his senior football season with a bachelor’s degree in history and then enrolled in a master’s degree program in exercise and sports sciences.

Culpepper returned to graduate from a law school full-time after his playing days were over and achieved his master’s degree and a law degree in 2001 from the University of Florida.

Then his induction into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a “Gator Great” occurred the same year.

In 2006, the Gainesville Sun’s sports editors named Brad Culpepper, the 47^th all-time greatest player of the first 100 seasons of the Florida Gators football team.

Professional Career 

In the 1992 NFL Draft, the Minnesota Vikings selected Brad Culpepper in the tenth draft round as the 264^th overall pick.

Culpepper went on to play for the team with players like Anthony Carter from 1992 to 1993 and then moved to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he played from 1994 to 1999.

His last playing days were with the Chicago Bears in the year 2000. Brad spent nine seasons in the NFL and played in 131 games.

Culpepper started 83 out of those 131 games and recorded 316 tackles, 34 quarterback sacks, six forced fumbles, and a safety.

Life After Football 

Meanwhile, after earning his law degree, Culpepper took retirement. He now works and stays in Tampa, Florida, with his wife, Monica.

The former football player works at the Culpepper Kurland law firm as a trial lawyer with his brother-in-law Brett Kurland.

Brad had to lose a lot of weight after his retirement for his well-being. He lost about 100 lb. and now weighs around 180 lb.

After that, Brad expressed concern over the heavyweight the NFL players need to maintain, calling it unsafe and unnatural.

He has said that these weights have led to severe health issues for the players.

Appearance In Survivor

Blood Vs. Water 

The reality television show Survivor featured on CBS selected Monica Culpepper, Brad’s wife, as one of its 24^th season participants.

To clarify, this was before Brad’s appearance on the show.

After this, the show’s 27th season, Survivor: Blood vs. Water, had Monica and Brad as participants. After the show, Monica became the season runner-up, while Brad finished in 15^th place.

Game Changers

In the 34^th season of the show Survivor, named Survivor: Game Changers, Brad Culpepper was revealed as one of the participants on February 8, 2017.

This season started airing in March 2017. He showed his physical dominance throughout the season.

However, he finished as a runner-up with three votes at the end of the season against Sarah Lacina, who finished first with seven votes.

Sued Over Disability

After Brad’s muscular performance on CBS’ “Survivor” in 2015, an insurance company accused him of fraud and deceit.

According to that company, they had paid $175k in workers’ compensation for Brad’s 89 percent disability rating in 2013.

As per them, Brad had initially told doctors of his “low back pain and stiffness, which is almost always present.”

Additionally, he spoke of difficulty getting into or out of the bath and performing heavy activities around his home.

His episodes on Survivors showcased him on a remote island in the Philippines.

As the team leader, he led through a series of strenuous tasks: paddling a canoe, diving underwater repeatedly, retrieving large crates, and stacking them on the shore.

After the lawsuit was filed, Brad Culpepper stated the following: 

“I was on pain medication and had a back procedure right before that. Just because I chose to do things that are contra [sic] to my body doesn’t mean I’m not in pain or impaired.”

Relationships, Wife & Children

Brad Culpepper met a fellow University of Florida student, Monica Frakes, as a sophomore at the university in 1990.

Monica was born on June 15, 1970, and is 53 years old as of 2024. Her hometown is Tampa, Florida.

The couple tied the knot some weeks after the Minnesota Vikings drafted Brad in the 1992 NFL Draft.

Monica mentions her husband as her biggest inspiration in life, and Brad also said Monica means more to him than anything else in this world.

His exact words were,

“Monica means more to me than anyone in this world. While this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, I will always place her before me as I would never want to jeopardize her Survivor flame.”

The lovely couple has three children together; two sons, Rex and Judge, and a daughter Honor.

Rex Culpepper, their oldest son, plays quarterback at Syracuse University, and Judge is a defensive lineman at the University of Toledo.

Recently Judge earned a spot on the 2022 Academic All-MAC team.

Likewise, Monica and Brad were runners-up in separate Survivor seasons, making them the only couple to do so.

Both achieved this feat in their second attempt at the game, Monica at Survivor: Blood vs. Water and Brad at Survivor: Game Changers.

Net Worth & Income 

After being selected as a 10th-round pick, Culpepper reportedly earned around $4.9 million throughout his NFL career, playing nine seasons.

Apart from that, the former NFL star earned significantly from his time on the television reality show Survivor, where he appeared for two seasons.

Brad is a trial lawyer in Tampa, Florida, and works at Culpepper Kurland law firm with his brother-in-law Brett Kurland.

Culpepper has an estimated net worth of $3 -$5 million as of 2024.

The average trial lawyer’s salary is $108,948 as of January 26, 2023, so Brad probably also earns that much.

Search Graph

Brad Culpepper’s graph shows average mobility from Aug. to Jan. 2023.

The graph illustrates the search rate for the past 12 months.

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