Steve McNair
McNair with the Baltimore Ravens in 2007 | |||||||||||||||||||
| No. 9 | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Quarterback | ||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||
| Born | February 14, 1973 Mount Olive, Mississippi, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Died | July 4, 2009 (aged 36) Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 230 lb (104 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||||||
| High school | Mount Olive | ||||||||||||||||||
| College | Alcorn State (1991–1994) | ||||||||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 1995: 1st round, 3rd overall pick | ||||||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
Stephen LaTreal McNair (February 14, 1973 – July 4, 2009), nicknamed "Air McNair", was an American professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons. He started his first two seasons with the Houston Oilers before the team relocated to Nashville, Tennessee, becoming the first franchise quarterback of the Tennessee Titans. McNair also played for two seasons with the Baltimore Ravens.
McNair played college football for the Alcorn State Braves, with whom he won the 1994 Walter Payton Award as the top player in NCAA Division I-AA. McNair was selected third overall by the Oilers in the 1995 NFL draft. He started six games in his first two seasons combined before becoming the team's regular starting quarterback for the 1997 season, and remained the starting quarterback for the Titans through 2005. After the 2005 season, McNair was traded to the Ravens, with whom he played for two seasons before retiring.
McNair appeared in the playoffs four times with the Titans, including their run to Super Bowl XXXIV in 2000, and made his final playoff appearance in 2006 with the Ravens. He was selected to the Pro Bowl thrice, and was an All-Pro and Co-MVP in 2003. McNair was the first African-American quarterback to win AP NFL MVP and remains, along with Cam Newton, Patrick Mahomes, and Lamar Jackson, only one of four to win the award. In 2009, McNair was shot and killed by his mistress in a murder–suicide.