Jon Brittenum

Jon Roger Brittenum (May 27, 1944 – October 13, 2022) was an American professional football player who was a quarterback for the San Diego Chargers in the American Football League (AFL) for one season in 1968. He earlier played college football for the Arkansas Razorbacks.^[1]

Brittenum was born in Brinkley, Arkansas, on May 27, 1944.^[2] He attended Brinkley High School in his hometown. He then studied at the University of Arkansas,^[2] where he played for the Arkansas Razorbacks from 1963 to 1966 (with 1964 being his redshirt year).^[3][4] He was the starting quarterback during his junior and senior seasons and was named an All-Southwest Conference in both years.^[4] He left the 1966 Cotton Bowl Classic early with a separated shoulder that ultimately ended with the Razorbacks losing 14–7 to the LSU Tigers, ending the school's streak of 22 consecutive victories.^[4][5]

Brittenum was selected by the Miami Dolphins in the eighth round (64th overall) of the 1966 AFL Redshirt draft.^[2][6] He only featured on the team's practice squad,^[4] and was subsequently traded to the San Diego Chargers in exchange for its third-round pick in the 1968 NFL/AFL draft.^[7]

Brittenum made his AFL debut with the Chargers on September 6, 1968, at the age of 24, in a 29–13 win against the Cincinnati Bengals.^[8] In a game on December 8 that same year, he replaced John Hadl – who completed just 9 of 25 passes and had six interceptions made off him – in the fourth quarter, but was promptly tackled in his own end zone by Buck Buchanan for a safety.^[9][10] The Chargers ultimately lost that game 40–3 against the Kansas City Chiefs, eliminating them from AFL Western Division contention.^[9][10] In his 14 games in the AFL, Brittenum scored one touchdown, completed 9 of 17 passes, and registered 125 passing yards and −4 rushing yards.^[2]

After retiring from professional football, Brittenum managed Brittenum & Associates, an investment banking firm based in Little Rock, Arkansas.^[11] Both the company and Brittenum filed for bankruptcy in 1986.^[11] He was subsequently charged with misappropriating his investors' money, with 15 savings and loan associations claiming $30.6 million against his company.^[12] Brittenum faced a maximum sentence of 20 years imprisonment, but was handed a five-year suspended sentence, 100 hours of community service, and restitution to four of his clients for $4 million.^[11][13]

Brittenum was selected for his alma mater's Sports Hall of Honor in 2020 and inducted the following year.^[4][14] He was also named to the school's All-Decade team for the 1960s. He died on October 13, 2022, in South Texas. He was 78, and suffered from ill health in the years prior to his death.^[4]