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Former NFL quarterback Jay Cutler began serving a four-day jail sentence in Franklin, Tenn., this week after pleading guilty to misdemeanor DUI. Cutler, who started for the Denver Broncos and Chicago Bears during his professional football career, was arrested in Franklin on DUI charges last October.

Cutler, 42, cut a plea deal with prosecutors that in turn helped him avoid a weapons charge during the same incident. In the arrest affidavit from October 2024, obtained by Nashville’s Fox 17, the driver of one vehicle said a car rear-ended him, and was attempting to flee the scene. That driver also said Cutler allegedly offered him $2,000 to not call the police.

When speaking with the former quarterback, police “noticed Mr. Cutler staggering, swaying, and heavy-footed while walking.” Officers also noted that “he spoke thick-tounged, slurred, and mumbled.” Cutler refused a sobriety test and denied being involved in a crash.

Police reportedly found a loaded Glock handgun in the center console of the vehicle, and a rifle in the back seat. After the incident, Cutler initially faced several charges including driving under the influence, reckless driving leading to a collision, violating implied consent regulations, and unlawfully possessing a firearm while intoxicated, per the New York Post.

In addition to his short jail term, Cutler paid a fine, attend a driver’s safety course and must live with a suspended license for the next year.

Cutler earned Pro Bowl honors with the Broncos in 2008 before he was traded to his childhood team, the Bears, in 2009 in exchange for Kyle Orton and several future draft picks. Over eight seasons in Chicago, Cutler started 107 games and helped the Bears reach the playoffs once (2010). He finished his NFL career with 35,133 yards passing, 227 touchdowns and 160 interceptions, and holds several franchise passing records in Chicago.

Cutler, a former first-round pick out of Vanderbilt in 2006, retired from the NFL in 2017 to try his hand in broadcasting prior to ending his marriage to reality TV star and fashion starlet Kristin Cavallari five years later. The ex-couple share three children together.