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Former Green Bay Packers and Wisconsin Badgers star Bill Ferrario unexpectedly died at his home on Wednesday at age 47, with a cause of death not publicly announced.
Ferrario is best remembered as an offensive line stalwart at Wisconsin from 1997 through 2000, starting all 50 games in his Badgers career, becoming only the third Big Ten player to accomplish that feat at the time.
The guard was a fourth-round selection of the in-state Packers in the 2001 NFL Draft, playing in Green Bay for two seasons before being released.
His death was first reported by his hometown newspaper in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
Ferrario spent 2003 out of the NFL before being picked up by the Washington Redskins.
The 6-foot-2, 314-pound behemoth was never activated to Washington's full-time roster and was cut ahead of the start of the 2004 regular season.
Former Green Bay Packers and Wisconsin Badgers star Bill Ferrario unexpectedly died
Ferrario is best remembered as an offensive line stalwart at Wisconsin from 1997 through 2000
Ferrario was eventually picked up by the Carolina Panthers and put on the 53-man roster in November 2004.
However, he did not appear for Carolina either and was released in 2005, never to be picked up by an NFL team again.
Ferrario mostly stayed out of the public eye after his gridiron career ended and faced legal trouble in recent years.
In 2023, Ferrario was arrested twice, first for a DUI and then for stalking, intimidation of a victim and more, per WXOW, in Marathon County, Wisconsin.
His final Instagram post shouted out his daughter on graduating what appears to be high school.
'Words can’t express how proud I am of my daughter on her graduation,' Ferrario said in late May. 'Watching her grow, work hard, and chase her goals has been one of the greatest joys of my life. She now closes one chapter and begins another - and I have no doubt she’s going to do amazing things. Congratulations. Keep shining. The world is yours.'
