Max Runager

Max Runager
No. 4
PositionPunter
Personal information
Born(1956-03-24)March 24, 1956
Greenwood, South Carolina, U.S.
DiedJune 30, 2017(2017-06-30) (aged 61)
Orangeburg, South Carolina, U.S.
Listed height
6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Listed weight
189 lb (86 kg)
Career information
High schoolOrangeburg-Wilkinson (Orangeburg)
CollegeSouth Carolina
NFL draft1979: 8th round, 211th overall pick
Career history
Awards and highlights
Career NFL statistics
Punts661
Punt yards26,581
Longest punt64
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Max Culp Runager (March 24, 1956 – June 30, 2017) was an American professional football punter in the National Football League (NFL) for eleven seasons for the Philadelphia Eagles, San Francisco 49ers, and Cleveland Browns. A graduate of Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School, he was selected by the Eagles in the eighth round (211th overall) of the 1979 NFL draft. Runager played college football at the University of South Carolina. He punted for two Super Bowl teams, the Eagles in 1980 and the 49ers in 1984.

Runager is one of at least 345 NFL players to be diagnosed after death with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which is caused by repeated hits to the head.

NFL career statistics

Legend
Won the Super Bowl
Bold Career high

Regular season

Year Team Punting
GPPuntsYdsNet YdsLngAvgNet AvgBlkIns20TB
1979PHI 16742,9272,6075739.634.81136
1980PHI 16752,9472,5635839.333.71168
1981PHI 15632,5672,2016440.734.90186
1982PHI 9441,7841,4485340.532.9081
1983PHI 12592,4592,0205541.734.20125
1984SFO 14562,3411,9255941.833.811812
1985SFO 16863,4222,9485739.833.91309
1986SFO 16833,4502,9176241.634.32238
1987SFO 12552,1571,8505639.233.01147
1988SFO 1124242424.024.0000
CLE 13481,9351,6945240.333.92132
1989PHI 4175685185233.430.5051
Career14466126,58122,7156440.233.9917065

Playoffs

Year Team Punting
GPPuntsYdsNet YdsLngAvgNet AvgBlkIns20TB
1979PHI 293833305242.636.7021
1980PHI 3113823394634.730.8021
1981PHI 172972564742.436.6000
1984SFO 3114253764838.634.2030
1985SFO 162281794638.029.8011
1986SFO 1104003434940.034.3030
1987SFO 162452164940.836.0010
1988CLE 131061064335.335.3030
Career13632,4662,1455239.134.00153

References

  1. ↑ Sielski, Mike (November 18, 2017). "Hero's life, lonely death: Max Runager suffered because he no longer had football". The Times and Democrat. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  2. ↑ "1979 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 27, 2025.
  3. ↑ Sielski, Mike (November 8, 2017). "Former Eagles punter Max Runager: Local hero's life, lonely death". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved November 18, 2017.
  4. ↑ "The driving force behind Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE)". Concussion Legacy Foundation. Archived from the original on July 2, 2023. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
  5. ↑ Belson, Ken; Mueller, Benjamin (June 20, 2023). "Collective Force of Head Hits, Not Just the Number of Them, Increases Odds of C.T.E. The largest study of chronic traumatic encephalopathy to date found that the cumulative force of head hits absorbed by players in their careers is the best predictor of future brain disease". The New York Times. Retrieved July 2, 2023.