Bernie Kosar, the former Cleveland Browns and University of Miami quarterback, underwent a successful liver transplant on Monday, more than a year after being added to the waiting list. The 61-year-old shared a brief video on social media following the surgery, stating, “Hey, I’m out and I’m feeling good. Just ready to enjoy the rest of the week and the rest of our lives.”
Kosar had been diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver and Parkinson’s disease, as he revealed to Cleveland Magazine last year. He experienced liver-related issues for years but only sought diagnosis after the condition worsened. He was placed on the transplant waiting list in July 2024. A scheduled transplant the previous weekend was delayed due to a donor organ infection. In the past week, he underwent five procedures to stop internal bleeding.
Kosar led the University of Miami to its first national championship in 1983 before entering the NFL in 1985 with the Cleveland Browns, whom he supported as a child growing up in Youngstown, Ohio. He played for the Browns from 1985 to 1993, guiding the team to three AFC Championship games, all of which were lost to the Denver Broncos. He remains third in franchise history for passing yards with 21,904.
After his time with the Browns, Kosar joined the Dallas Cowboys for the remainder of the 1993 season, winning a Super Bowl ring, and later played for the Miami Dolphins from 1994 to 1996. The Browns paid tribute to Kosar with a video before Sunday’s game against the Baltimore Ravens, and head coach Kevin Stefanski expressed his support, saying, “Bernie’s my guy... He’s a special person. He’s a special Cleveland Brown, and we are all rooting for him.”
