Jerry Butler

Director - Player Development

Jerry Butler is in his tenth year with the Browns and eighth year as the team’s director, player development. Butler served six years in the Buffalo Bills front office and arrived in Cleveland to coach the Browns wide receivers in 1999 and 2000.

Butler ensures the successful transition of NFL players into and out of professional football by administering a continuum of programs and services designed to assist players to succeed in their lives off the field. The programs address an array of off the field issues including degree completion, internships, counseling and financial education. Recently developed programs include the NFL Business Management Entrepreneurial Program, Broadcast Boot Camp and NFL Brand University.

Butler received the 2003-2004 Winston-Shell Award for innovation and commitment to player development, and the 2007 Outstanding Financial Education Program for innovation. Butler currently serves on the NFL’s Player Development Executive Steering Committee.

Butler was one of the most productive receivers in the NFL during his nine-year (1979-87) playing career. When Butler retired from the Bills following the 1987 season, he held several of the club’s all-time receiving marks- most receiving yards in a game (255 vs. N.Y. Jets, on Sept. 23, 1979) and most touchdowns in a game (4 vs. N.Y. Jets, on Sept. 23, 1979). Butler was Buffalo’s first-round draft choice in 1979, and was named AFC Offensive Rookie-of-the-Year in 1979 and earned a Pro Bowl selection in 1980.

A graduate of Clemson University, Butler was an All-America choice as a senior and was inducted into the Clemson Hall of Fame in 1986, and named to the Clemson Ring of Honor – the highest honor a Clemson athlete can receive, and also inducted into the South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame in 1997.

During his playing career, Butler established himself as a community leader. He was the Bills’ “Man-of-the-Year” in 1981 and 1982 for his outstanding community service and was honored in 1983 by the Buffalo and Erie County YMCA with the Jackie Robinson Award.

A native of Ware Shoals, S.C., Butler was born on Oct. 12, 1957. He and his wife, Paula, have two children, Jerry, 21, and Chrissy, 19. The family resides in Shaker Heights, Ohio.