Mike Perez (American football)


Michael Paul Perez is a former American football quarterback. He was drafted by the New York Giants in the seventh round of the 1988 NFL Draft. Perez played college football at San Jose State and has also been a member of the Houston Oilers, Frankfurt Galaxy, Kansas City Chiefs, Denver Broncos, Albany Firebirds, New York CityHawks and New England Sea Wolves.

Early life and college

Born and raised in Denver, Perez graduated from Denver South High School in 1983 and attended Taft Junior College in California. In 1985, Perez transferred to San Jose State University. He became starting quarterback in 1986 after redshirting the 1985 season. Perez led the Spartans to the Pacific Coast Athletic Association conference championship and briefly garnered national media attention.

Professional career

New York Giants

Perez was selected by the New York Giants in the seventh round of the 1988 NFL Draft. On injured reserve with pulled stomach muscle. He was released by the team on August 23, 1989.

Houston Oilers

Perez was signed by the Houston Oilers on May 14, 1990. He was released on August 6.

Frankfurt Galaxy

Perez signed with the World League of American Football on January 31, 1991. He was selected by the Frankfurt Galaxy in the first round of the 1991 WLAF positional draft.
Perez was the starting quarterback in all ten regular season games, completing 171 of 357 passes for 2,272 yards and 13 touchdowns. He also rushed 44 times for 189 yards, resulting in a team-leading 4.3 average. Perez suffered only 19 sacks for 115 negative yards and was intercepted 17 times. His best games were at New York/New Jersey where he threw for three touchdowns with a 61 percent completion rate, and at Orlando, where he passed for 346 yards including a 59-yard hurl to Jason Johnson.

Denver Broncos

Perez was signed by the Denver Broncos on April 28, 1993. He was released on August 30.

Life after football

Perez currently works in Finance as a Loan Officer at Megastar Financial Corp. Perez is active in the Denver community and serves as Chair of the Board of Environmental Learning for Kids.