Karl Mecklenburg

Karl Mecklenburg rose from a college walk-on and a 12th round draft pick, to a pro football career that included six Pro Bowl and three Super Bowl appearances. Considered the NFL's most versatile player, Karl played all seven defensive front positions. Bronco coaches wanted him at the point of attack and would move him throughout the game. There were many games where Mecklenburg played all 7 positions in the course of a single game.

Since retiring from pro football in 1995, Karl divides his time between family, motivational speaking and his ongoing charity involvements. Karl and his wife Kathi have three children and still live in Colorado. In 2001, Karl was inducted into the Denver Broncos Ring of Fame and the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame. Mecklenburg has been a Pro Football Hall of Fame Semifinalist for each of the last seven years. Karl is a Certified Speaking Professional and a longtime member of the National Speakers Association. He has enjoyed speaking to a variety of groups over the years, and his story is both humorous and inspirational. The lessons life in the NFL taught him about teamwork, courage, dedication, desire, honesty and forgiveness, and goal setting can be applied anywhere. He approaches his speaking career with the same intelligence, passion, and intensity that punctuated his great football career.

Karl has hosted radio programs, done television sideline reporting and studio work, written columns for the Denver Post and had magazine articles published. He is the coauthor of Meck For The Defense and the author of Heart of a Student Athlete: All Pro Advice for Competitors and Their Families. This book, awarded the Mom's Choice Awards® Gold Recipient and the 2010 Mensa Sharp Writ Book Awards: Best Book for Young Adults, offers advice to young athletes and their loved ones about what it really takes to be successful in sports and life.