Former NFL Quarterback Erik Kramer's Wife Stole from Him While He Was Mentally Incapacitated

Erik Kramer was a renowned football player, but what happened after his retirement is possibly even more remarkable than any game. His story is a tale of depression, financial theft and, ultimately, hope.

Johnathan Walton, a public speaker and producer and host of the podcast The Quarterback and the Con Artist, which tells Kramer’s story, explains that Kramer was an NFL quarterback during the 1980s and 1990s. “He played for some of the most storied football teams, including the New Orleans Saints, the Chicago Bears the San Diego Chargers and the Detroit Lions,” Walton writes in Anatomy of a Con Artist: The 14 Red Flags to Spot Scammers, Grifters and Thieves.

Kramer likely suffered brain-related injuries in a time when football’s neurological effects weren’t well studied. Dr. Adam Z. Chester, a licensed clinical neuropsychologist and founder of Chester Neuropsychology, tells A&E Crime + Investigation, “Professional football players face a higher risk of traumatic brain injury compared to the general population because the sport involves repeated high-impact collisions.”

Lance Trexler, a rehabilitation neuropsychologist in Indianapolis, explains that a single concussion increases one’s likelihood of developing depression within the following five years by 114%. “In [Kramer’s] case, I suspect he had many concussions,” Trexler tells A&E Crime + Investigation. “He was predisposed to be vulnerable to depression, a risk factor for suicide.”

Post-career, Kramer suffered from depression, especially after the death of his 18-year-old son, Griffen, in 2011. “That pain was multiplied tenfold a year later, when [Kramer’s] mother died after a long battle with cancer. And shortly after that, his father died of cancer, too,” Walton writes.

On August 18, 2015, Kramer attempted to die by suicide by gunshot. Because he lacked experience with firearms, the bullet missed parts of his brain that would have caused death. Yet, Chester says, “Penetrating injuries, such as those caused by a firearm, can produce particularly severe neurological damage because they directly disrupt brain structures and neural networks.”

“He could barely process complex concepts or make independent decisions,” Walton writes. “And he was very trusting. He was a sitting duck for a professional con artist.”

Soon after the suicide attempt, Kramer’s ex-girlfriend, Cortney Baird, reappeared. “They dated briefly and had a very turbulent relationship,” Walton says. “Erik’s family and friends described her as ‘gold digger.’ Erik broke up with her pretty quickly after that.”

But Kramer didn’t recall the breakup from two years prior, and Baird exploited that by moving into Kramer’s home under the guise of “helping” him. Kramer embracing Baird’s return doesn’t surprise Trexler. “If someone [has] a brain injury [and] you pay attention to them,” he says “you say things to them [that are] kind, they’re very taken by that.”

Baird and Kramer married on December 22, 2016. “Injuries that affect the frontal lobes can impair judgment and decision-making,” Chester says. “Individuals may have difficulty evaluating others’ intentions or protecting their own interests.”

Surprisingly, in June 2018, Walton writes, “Erik suddenly came to. He said it felt like he’d been in a coma up until that point and now he was wide awake. ‘In that moment, I never wanted to be married to Cortney. I felt like I had been forced into it all,’ Erik said to me.”

In 2015, Baird took over Kramer’s finances, giving herself cash advances, forging checks and stealing money from his $4 million trust fund. “Thousands and thousands of dollars were getting leached out of Erik’s accounts on a weekly basis. And Erik was none the wiser,” Walton writes.

Kramer’s obliviousness is unsurprising to Emily Rubenstein, lead attorney at Emily Rubenstein Law. “Financial abuse can be very subtle and insidious,” she tells A&E Crime + Investigation. “We sometimes see financial manipulation sit at the intersection of family law and elder abuse.”

Soon, Kramer’s friend, Anna Dergan, started questioning why multiple packages were being delivered to his home when he was usually frugal. “She got ahold of Erik’s bank statements and was horrified to discover that Cortney had stolen nearly $50,000,” Walton writes. “Fearful, Anna took what she had found to the L.A. County Sheriff’s Office.”

However, despite a detective determining Kramer was of unsound mind, Walton writes, Baird convinced authorities the finances were a misunderstanding. Knowing an investigation might still be open, she arranged her 2016 marriage to Kramer, allowing Baird to continue her financial abuse as his legal wife.

But when Kramer recovered his mental faculties in 2018 and demanded a divorce, Baird instead claimed that Kramer had assaulted her. “The evidence of an ‘assault’ was a tiny scratch on her arm that Erik says was self-inflicted,” Walton writes. “Regardless, police showed up and arrested Erik, [though he] was able to clear his name and get the domestic violence charges against him dropped.”

On January 28, 2019, Kramer had his marriage annulled by a Los Angeles Superior Court judge. Then, with Dergan’s help, he reported Baird’s crimes to authorities, restarting the criminal investigation from 2016. “In February 2020, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office stepped in, charging Cortney with a dozen felonies, including identity theft, forgery and fraud,” Walton writes.

Baird refused to take a plea deal until August 2024, and Kramer’s losses were placed at $170,000; Baird had to pay back in full. “When financial misconduct occurs, the focus is often on restoring the marital estate or making the affected party whole through reimbursements,” Rubenstein explains.

Baird received 180 days in jail, which Walton calls "a light sentence," noting that she served less than half of that time "on account of inmate overcrowding in L.A. County."

Today, Kramer serves as a public speaker and mental health advocate. “[Kramer’s] got a new identity,” Trexler says. “He's not an athlete anymore, but he's got a meaningful role in life.”