Todd Marvin Marinovich (born Marvin Scott Marinovich; July 4, 1969) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) (Los Angeles Raiders), Canadian Football League (CFL) (Winnipeg Blue Bombers, BC Lions), and Arena Football League (AFL) (Los Angeles Avengers). He played college football for the USC Trojans. Marinovich is known for the well-documented, intense focus of his training as a young athlete and his brief career as a professional, cut short primarily because of his addiction to drugs.
Todd's memoir, Marinovich: Outside the Lines in Football, Art, and Addiction, written with author Lizzy Wright, released in August 2025.
Early development
Marinovich grew up on the Balboa Peninsula of Newport Beach, California. His father, Marv Marinovich, had been a defensive end and a captain for the USC Trojans during the 1962 national championship season and played in the 1963 Rose Bowl. Marinovich's mother, Trudi (née Fertig), was a high school swimmer who dropped out of USC to marry Marv. Her brother Craig was a star USC quarterback at this time.
After harming his own National Football League career by overtraining and focusing too much on weight and bulk, Marv studied Eastern Bloc training methods and was hired by Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis as the NFL's first strength and conditioning coach.
Marv saw an opportunity to use techniques, focusing on speed and flexibility, that later formed the basis for modern core training. During her pregnancy, Trudi used no salt, sugar, alcohol, or tobacco; as a baby, Todd was fed only fresh vegetables, fruits, and raw milk. In February Sports Illustrated published an article, titled "Bred To Be A Superstar", that discussed his unique upbringing under his father who wanted to turn his son into the "perfect quarterback". The article declared Marinovich "America's first test-tube athlete", and discussed how his mother encouraged his interest in art, music, and classical Hollywood cinema while banning cartoons as too violent. His father assembled a team of advisers to tutor him on every facet of the game. The article stated that: