Throughout NFL history, many NFL quarterbacks have accomplished several records. However, one of the best play-action pass NFL quarterbacks of all time is Steve Deberg.
Steve Deberg is an American retired football athlete and coach of the National Football League(NFL). He was a professional quarterback in the NFL for 21 years.
Throughout his career, DeBerg has played for several teams like Dallas Cowboys, San Francisco 49ers, Denver Broncos, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Kansas City Chiefs, Miami Dolphins, and Atlanta Falcons.
Moreover, Deberg’s most successful years as a quarterback were while representing Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Kansas City Chiefs.
Hence, today, we will focus more on Steve DeBerg’s career and also discuss his personal life, net worth, marriage, children, and much more.
But, firstly, let’s start with some of the quick facts about him.
Quick Facts:
| Full Name | Steven Leroy DeBerg |
| Birth Date | January 19, 1954 |
| Age | 70 Years Old |
| Birth Place | Oakland, California |
| Nickname | Steve |
| Religion | Not Available |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Savanna High School, San Jose State University, Fullerton College |
| Horoscope | Capricorn |
| Father’s Name | Not Disclosed |
| Mother’s Name | Not Disclosed |
| Siblings | Not Disclosed |
| Height | 6’3″ (1.91 m) |
| Weight | 210 lbs (95 kgs) |
| Build | Athletic |
| Shoe Size | Not Available |
| Eye Color | Blue |
| Hair Color | Brown |
| Marital Status | Divorced |
| Spouse | Marcia North |
| Children | 2 children |
| Profession | Football player, Coach |
| Retirement | 1998 |
| Age of Retirement | 44 |
| Draft | 1977 |
| Number | 17 |
| Position | Quarterback |
| Former Teams | As a player- Dallas Cowboys San Francisco 49ers Denver Broncos Tampa Bay Buccaneers Kansas City Chiefs Miami Dolphins Atlanta Falcons As coach- New York Giants Indiana Firebirds Tampa Bay Storm |
| Net Worth | $43 million |
| Awards and Achievements | All-PCAA (Pacific Coast Athletic Association Offensive Player of the Year- 1976) |
| Social Media | Instagram, Twitter |
| Merch | Falcons Signed Mini Helmet, Autographed Football Cards, Rookie cards, Signed Tampa Bay Jersey. |
| Last Update | April, 2024 |
Steve Deberg | Early Life, Family & Education
Retired football quarterback athlete Steve Deberg was born on January 19, 1954, in Oakland, California. Sadly, Deberg has not revealed any details regarding his parents or his siblings.
As for Steve’s educational background, Steve graduated from Savanna High School, located in Anaheim, California. During his high school years, Deberg played as the starting quarterback.
Moreover, for college, Deberg attended Fullerton College and represented his college team during the 1972 and 1973 seasons.
Likewise, as a sophomore, Steve led his team towards the South Coast Conference title, where they managed to record a 5–0 score.
Moreover, during the postseason, the team won against San Diego City College. However, they lost to Los Angeles City College in the semifinals.
Due to his exceptional records in the tournament, Steve won the Junior College All-American title.
Furthermore, Steve later transferred to San José State University and became the college football team’s starting quarterback.
Likewise, he directed his team towards the Pacific Coast Athletic Association and won the year’s PCAA offensive player. Throughout his college career, Deberg initiated nine school records.
How old is Steve Deberg? Age, Height, and Body Measurements
Deberg was born in 1954, which makes him 70 years old as of 2024.
Likewise, Steve’s birthdate falls under the sun sign of Capricorn. Capricorn men are mostly known for their disciplined, ambitious, and pragmatic nature.
Moreover, Deberg stands at 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m) and weighs around 95 kg (210 lbs). Aside from this, his body measurements are unknown at the moment.
Besides, his other notable body facts include his black colored hair and pair of brown eyes. He is an American citizen whose ethnicity belongs to White.
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Steve Deberg | Professional Career
Moving on to Steve’s professional career, he spent the majority of his career as a backup quarterback and gathered impressive stats throughout his career in NFL.
San Francisco 49ers
After the 1977 NFL draft process, the San Francisco 49ers‘ signed Deberg to their practice squad on September 14, 1977.
In 1978, Steve was the very first quarterback athlete to execute Bill Walsh’s West Coast Offense.
Moreover, after the 49ers drafted Joe Montana during the 1979 NFL draft, Steve became the backup quarterback during the 1980 NFL season.
Likewise, during the 1979 season, Steve led the team with 578 pass attempts and 347 completions.
Not to mention, Steve was the fifth athlete in the league with 17 touchdowns and 3,652 passing yards.
Similarly, Steve recorded his career-first 300-yard pass during his sixth start while playing against Seattle.
He completed the season with a season-high stats of 31 passes for 306 yards, one interception, and one touchdown.
Likewise, the next season, Deberg recorded his first passer rating of 100 as a starter while competing against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
He ended the game with 30 pass attempts, 22 completions, no interceptions, and one touchdown.
Furthermore, the 49ers developed in the 1980 season, where they won six games in which Steve started in four of the games.
He began the season strong and gained his first three starts with over 70 percent of pass attempts.
Denver Broncos
Moreover, the San Francisco 49ers traded Steve to the Denver Broncos on August 31, 1981, in exchange for a 1983 NFL draft fourth-round pick, Chuck Nelson.
Deberg represented Broncos for three seasons, where he backup Elway and Craig Morton. In total, Steve participated in 33 games and started in 11 games.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
On April 24, 1984, the Broncos traded Steve to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in exchange for Randy Robbins and Richard Byrd.
He joined the team the same year the Buccaneers drafted Vinny Testaverde and Steve Young.
Moreover, Steve became the central starter for the 1984 season. During the season, he recorded several productive offensive attacks as the team’s starting quarterback.
Likewise, in 1984 the Buccaneers became the tenth team in the league with their total offensive yards and eighth in passing yards.
Furthermore, Steve participated in all 16 games, where he started in 13 games and won five victories that season.
His 3,554 yards pass, 308 completions with 509 attempts became the second-best of his career.
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Major Accomplishments
During the 1984 season, NFL leaderboards, Steve became the fourth player in completions and attempts, seventh player in passing yards, ninth in touchdown passes, and eighth in passing yards per game.
Likewise, on September 16, 1984, the Buccaneers secured their first win against Detroit.
In the game, Deberg accomplished 18 of 27 passes for 195 yards with no interceptions and two touchdowns.
Furthermore, the same game was one of the four games where Steve’s rating as a quarterback topped 100.
Similarly, the other three games to reach the milestone were against Minnesota held on October 7, 1984, Detroit held on October 14, 1984, and New York Jets held on December 16, 1984.
Thus, as a starting quarterback, Steve never passed for fewer than 191 yards in any games held that year and surpassed the 200-yard mark around ten times.
Deberg obtained his season-high record of 322 passing yards on November 25, 1984, during a game against the Los Angeles Rams.
Final years with the Bucs
After starting in only two games during the 1986 season, Steve became the leading passer.
In total, Deberg played in 12 games with eight starts and completed 275 passes for 1,891 yards with seven interceptions and 14 touchdowns.
This particular stats became his lowest mark in a season. Later, he achieved the eighth rank in the league’s QB rating and finished as the league’s top 10 players in completion rate.
Similarly, Steve recorded his career-high five touchdown passes on September 13, 1987, during the opening-day game against Atlanta, where he recorded 24 of 34 passes for 333 yards.
Kansas City Chiefs
On March 31, 1988, The Buccaneers traded Steve to the Kansas City Chiefs in exchange for Mark Robinson, John Bruhin, and Anthony Simpson.
Steve is remembered as the journeyman quarterback with over 34,000 career yards and all-time top 20 ranks in yards passed, attempts, and completions.
Deberg’s most successful years were with the City Chiefs as he guided the team towards two playoff berths.
Likewise, Steve’s best year was the 1990 season, when he achieved a quarterback rating of 96.3 as he recorded 3,444 yards pass, four interceptions, and 23 touchdowns.
During the initial years representing the Chiefs, Steve participated in 13 games where he started in 11 games with 2,935 yards pass, 16 interceptions, and 16 touchdowns.
Moreover, one of Steve’s best games was on December 4, 1988, against the New York Jets, where he finished 16 of 25 passes for 267 yards with one interception and three touchdowns.
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Successful years with the Chiefs
The 1990 NFL season was Steve’s best performance year in his career. His stats of 3,444 yards were his career’s third-best record and seventh in the NFL.
Likewise, his 96.3 passer rating was a career-high record that reached the top 10 ranks for yards per attempt.
Moreover, he reached rank eighth in the league for passing yards per game and fifth for the league in yards per completion.
Steve’s 23 touchdown passes made him get the sixth rank, one of his four top-ten ranked seasons.
Similarly, Steve recorded a career-high of 395 yards pass while playing against Denver on September 17, 1990.
Unfortunately, he injured his non-throwing hand while playing against Houston Oilers on December 16, 1990.
Tampa Bay and Miami Dolphins
After his successful years with the Kansas City Cheifs, Steve rejoined the Buccaneers and represented them in the 1992 season.
Moreover, in 1993, the Buccaneers removed Steve after he played for three games with them. After the removal, he thought that his playing career was almost over.
However, the Miami Dolphins signed him, and he decided to play for them during the ongoing season.
Unfortunately, Steve had to leave the game with the New York Giants after being injured in his chin. After the 1992 season, Deberg decided to retire after participating in the 1993 NFL season.
Final season as an Athlete
After Steve announced his first retirement, he returned to the NFL, representing the Atlanta Falcons for the 1998 season as a 44-year-old cornerback.
Moreover, on October 25, 1998, Chris Chandler couldn’t play. Thus, Steve replaced Chris becoming the third-oldest quarterback to play in the NFL.
Similarly, as a 45-year-old, Deberg also became the oldest player on a Super Bowl roster.
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Coaching career
After Deberg’s retirement as an athlete, he coached various teams like New York Giants, Indiana Firebirds, and Tampa Bay Storm from 1995 to 1996.
Is Steve DeBerg in the Hall of Fame? Hall of Fame
Due to Steve’s incredible performances throughout his career, he became part of the Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame in California Community College.
Likewise, he also became part of the Sports Hall of Fame and Ring of Honor in Jose State University in 1993.
Similarly, on February 5, 2010, Steve was enlisted by Savanna High School in the Rebel Hall of Fame for his accomplishments as a starting quarterback.
How much is Steve DeBerg worth? Net Worth
Steve Deberg is one of the very few oldest players to play in the NFL. Throughout his career, he has achieved several accomplishments and records.
Salaries of football athletes range drastically depending on various factors. NFL rookies mostly have a salary ranging from $400 thousand to $600 thousand.
Likewise, the highest level NFL athletes have a salary of $50 million.
Although the exact net worth of Steve Deberg is not available, we can say that the presumable net worth of Steve Deberg falls around $43 million.
Steve Deberg | Wife and Children
Deberg is a very private person. Thus, not much information is available regarding his personal affairs.
Reportedly, Steve was married to Marcia North on August 17, 1974, and split in 1996.
Together they have two children. However, Deberg has not revealed any information regarding his children and the reasons behind his divorce.
Interesting Facts about Steve Deberg
- Apart from football, Steve also excelled in pole vaulting.
- Peyton Manning, a former American football quarterback, studied films of Steve’s play-action methods and implemented them in his plays.
- Steve always kept his games as his top-most priority. Previously, he has played through injuries and laryngitis. Also, he wore a portable amplifier during a regular-season game while representing the San Francisco 49ers.
Social Media Presence:
Deberg doesn’t have any social media accounts. However, many fans still post about the retired quarterback.
We have provided you with Steve’s hashtags on various social media platforms-
Instagram: #stevedeberg
Twitter: #stevedeberg
Some FAQs:
How old was Steve Deberg when he retired?
Steve Deberg was 44 years old when he retired. On October 25, 1998, Steve played his only game that season and final game ever at the age of 44.
Is Steve Deberg the oldest starting quarterback in the NFL?
In 1998, Steve became the oldest quarterback to start an NFL game. On October 25, 1998, the 44-year-old Deberg returned from five years of retirement to play for the Atlanta Falcons against the New York Jets and earned his place in the history books.
Was Steve DeBerg a good QB?
Steve DeBerg has proven himself to be one of the most talented and reliable players of the National Football League.
He played amazingly in all games in his professional football career. DeBerg is considered one of the best play-action pass quarterbacks of all time.
What position did Steve Deberg play?
Steve Deberg played in the quarterback position at the professional level.
When did Steve Deberg play for the chiefs?
Steve Deberg played for the Kansas city chiefs from 1988 to 1991.
How much is a Steve Deberg card worth?
Steve Deberg’s card’s price ranges from $9.95–$22.99.
