Steve McNair , in full Steve LaTreal McNair, byname Air McNair (born Feb. 14, 1973, Mount Olive, Miss., U.S.—died July 4, 2009, Nashville, Tenn.), American gridiron football player who threw 174 touchdown passes during his 13 National Football League (NFL) seasons (1995–2008), primarily while playing for the Tennessee Titans.

McNair grew up in Mississippi and chose to attend the rural Alcorn State University, a historically black Division I-AA (now Football Championship Subdivision [FCS]) school where he could play quarterback, rather than serve as defensive back at a major university. He was the starting quarterback for Alcorn State for all but one game in his four-year college football career. Over that time, McNair threw 119 touchdown passes and set an FCS record by throwing and running for a combined 16,823 yards. In his senior year alone, he set a single-season FCS mark by totaling 5,799 yards and finished third in the balloting for the 1994 Heisman Trophy.

McNair was selected with the third pick in the 1995 NFL draft by the Houston Oilers—who became the Tennessee Titans in 1999. He led the Titans to the franchise’s first Super Bowl berth in 2000. There he guided his team to a comeback from a 16-point deficit, and the Titans came within a yard of the tying touchdown, only to ultimately lose to the St. Louis Rams. McNair played with the Titans franchise for 11 seasons before finishing his career with the Baltimore Ravens (2006–08)

Over the course of his NFL career, McNair passed for 31,304 yards, rushed for 3,590 yards, played in three Pro Bowls, and was named joint Most Valuable Player in 2003, along with Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning. McNair was known for his tenacity in playing through injuries and his dexterity as a scrambler or passer. His early death became fodder for tabloids: the married McNair was found dead in a condominium alongside a woman he had been dating whom police believed killed him and then herself.

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