Drugs, infidelity and the elusive Super Bowl win: What happened to NFL star Dan Marino?

The Miami Dolphins have gotten off to a hot start offensively during the 2023 NFL season. Fans of an older generation have been reminded of Miami’s teams that were led by Dan Marino in the 1980’s and 1990’s, which also featured prolific passing attacks. We’ll revisit Marino’s rise to prominence, and check in on what he’s been doing since he retired. All statistics are sourced from Football Reference.

Marino’s story begins in 1961 as the son of a bus driver. The future NFL Hall of Famer showed promise right away as an athlete.

He was a star baseball and football player, which opened up a lot of doors for the kid who grew up in a blue-collar family, according to the Pennsylvania Center For The Book. We know which path he ultimately chose, but baseball was a legitimate option for him.

Marino would play football collegiately for the University of Pittsburgh. His numbers may not seem all that impressive now, but his ability to drive the football with precision and accuracy made him one of the best college quarterbacks in the early 1980’s. He threw 34 touchdown passes in his junior season.

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Based on his physical gifts, Marino had a concrete argument to be taken early in the first round of the 1983 NFL Draft. However, there were questions about his lifestyle away from the gridiron.

Rumors about his desire to party and use drugs scared teams away, according to Bleacher Report. The Dolphins ended up snagging Marino with the 27th overall pick.

It didn’t take long for the NFL to realize that Marino was one of the best pure throwers the game had ever seen. He set a record in 1984 for touchdown passes in a season with 48, and led Miami to a Super Bowl appearance.

At that time, it wasn’t common for quarterbacks to throw for 5,000 yards and 40 touchdowns.

In a 1993 game against the Cleveland Browns, Marino tore his Achilles. It was uncertain whether the 32-year-old would be able to make it back at the same level fans were used to seeing him play at. In 1994, Marino came back with a vengeance, tossing 30 touchdown passes in a statement campaign.

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Marino is one of the most famous athletes to never win a championship. His final NFL season was in 1999-2000, and Miami got walloped in that contest. The Dolphins lost 62-7 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, which sent Marino into retirement in embarrassing fashion. Despite that, Marino finished his career with a regular season record of 147-93.

Even though he wouldn’t be on the field any longer, Marino would remain relevant on NFL Sundays. He joined CBS as a studio analyst in 2002, and was a fixture in that role until 2014.

He worked alongside Bill Cowher, Boomer Esiason, Shannon Sharpe and others during that period. He would also participate in sit-down interviews with some of the NFL’s best players.

Marino has also been a popular choice in advertising campaigns. He's perhaps best known for his work with Nutrisystem, but has also more recently appeared in commercials for Frito-Lay and Pepsi.

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Marino added to his advertising resume on Super Bowl XLVIII, starring in one commercial for M&M's and appearing in another for Michelob Ultra.

During his time with CBS, Marino had a fling with network production assistant Donna Savattere, as covered by the Bleacher Report. Savattere gave birth to Marino’s child, which was a storyline kept under wraps.

Marino had been married to his wife Claire for nearly three decades when the adultery took place. The former quarterback was well known as a family man, so this news somewhat sullied his image.