During his decade-long NFL career, Martin Gramatica kicked for four different teams.
Gramatica last appeared in an NFL game in 2008, the second year of his two-year stint with the New Orleans Saints.
Now 49, Gramatica opened up about his past during a sitdown with TMZ to discuss his memoir, "Beyond The Uprights: The Intimate Memoir Of Martin Gramatica."
Gramatica opened up about what he experienced during his childhood, particularly the tense relationship he had with his father.
But he stressed he didn't talk or write about his past, seeking sympathy.
"I want to make sure people don't read the book and say, ‘Feel sorry for me,’ because everything that I lived, it made me a better person and made me a better father," Gramatica said.
Gramatica said his father provided an example of the type of relationship he did not want to have with his own children.
"It made me know what not to do with my kids. I want to make sure that if somebody reads the book and realizes, 'I need to break this,' and I want somebody to realize it sooner than when I did. I didn't realize how bad it was until I had my first son when Nico was born."
Martin's challenging relationship with his father led to an agreement between Martin and his siblings.
"I love that kid so much that you're thinking, 'How can I ever do what my father did to me?' So, that's what I feel. I talked to my brothers, and we made a pact. We got to break this," Martin noted.
"We haven't spoken [to our dad] since because we just don't want that type of abuse around our families. I have three kids. My brother Santiago has two kids. So, we don't want that around our kids. That's what the book's about."
Gramatica kicked for Kansas State before making the leap to the NFL in 1999. He spent the first six seasons of his NFL career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, winning the Super Bowl with the Bucs in 2002.
He ended his professional football career with a 76.4% career field goal percentage.
In Paul Goldschmidt, the Yankees brought in a seven-time All-Star just a few seasons removed from being the NL MVP. He also is coming off the worst season of his life, one in which he trended down virtually everywhere. In Goldschmidt, the Yankees have added a first baseman who has won four Gold Gloves, but...
The battle for Christmas is on between the NFL and the NBA after both leagues released viewership numbers for the Christmas Day slate of games on Thursday.
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Phillip Brooks, better known by his WWE ring name, CM Punk, is not happy with the state of his hometown NFL team.
Punk, who was born in Chicago, aired some of his grievances with the Bears during a guest appearance on Netflix's NFL coverage Christmas Day.
"Nothing’s going to change until the McCaskeys sell the team. I said it," Punk said in reference to the family that inherited ownership of the Bears from team founder George Halas several decades ago.
"We’re live on Netflix, I don’t care. I’ve been there. Oh, Lovie Smith is going to change the Bears. Oh, Trubisky is going to change the Bears. Then, we trade up and we lose [Patrick] Mahomes."
While quarterback Mitch Trubisky finished his four-year run in Chicago with more than 10,000 passing yards, his tenure was viewed as a disappointment.
"We’re going to just walk off the set and let you rant," pregame show co-host Devin McCourty said.
"Mahomes right now. No, he’d be on the Bears. Sorry," Punk responded.
Trubisky was the second overall pick of the 2017 NFL Draft, when the Kansas City Chiefs used the tenth overall selection for Mahomes. In April, the Bears had the draft's first overall pick after trading the 2023 top pick to the Carolina Panthers. This year, the Bears kept the pick and selected USC Trojans standout Caleb Williams.
Williams has struggled at times this season.
The Bears enter Thursday night's game against the Seattle Seahawks with a 4-11 record. The Bears have already been eliminated from playoff contention and parted ways with coach Matt Eberflus last month.
But Punk, a self-proclaimed "Chicago sports fan," suggested the franchise's shortcomings should fall at the feet of the team's leadership.
"I’m a Chicago sports fan," Punk said. "And, ladies and gentlemen, it doesn’t get any lower than that right now."
The crown jewel of the class, Nabers has been most impressed by the toughness of the group, the willingness to play hurt even as the losses have piled up.
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