Why Is Jay Cutler in Jail? Everything We Know About the Former NFL Player’s DUI Arrest

Jay Cutler, the former NFL quarterback, is behind bars.

The 42-year-old sports star reported to a Tennessee jail on Monday, September 29, to begin serving his DUI sentence, according to TMZ, KZOK and the Daily Mail. Cutler is expected to remain at Williamson County Jail until Friday, having arrived around 10 a.m. local time. Representatives for Cutler and the jail did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

This comes after Cutler pleaded guilty before a Williamson County judge on August 26, per WGN, WSMV and Fox 32 Chicago. In addition to serving four days in jail starting September 29, Cutler was ordered to pay a $350 fine. He will also be on unsupervised probation for one year, attend a DUI safety class and has had his Tennessee driver’s license revoked.

The legal troubles stem from an October 2024 incident in downtown Franklin, Tennessee. Cutler was charged with DUI, possession of a handgun while under the influence, implied consent violations, and failure to exercise due care to avoid a collision. The gun charge was later dropped as part of his guilty plea.

Authorities reported that Cutler, driving a white Dodge Ram, rear-ended a blue GMC. According to a Franklin Police Department press release, officers noticed “a strong odor of alcohol” on Cutler, who was slurring his words and had bloodshot eyes. He refused field sobriety tests and was taken to a local hospital, where a blood sample was obtained via a warrant.

Officials also located “two firearms in his vehicle, including a loaded pistol,” and documents previously obtained by PEOPLE allege that Cutler attempted to flee the scene before offering the other driver $2,000 not to call the police.

Adding to the fallout, just days after his guilty plea, Cutler was sued by the man he hit in the 2024 crash. Perry Lee filed a lawsuit on September 2, claiming Cutler was “at fault for the collision” and that he endured “physical pain and mental suffering” as well as a “loss of enjoyment of life as a direct and proximate result of the collision.” Lee’s attorney, Sydney Pierce, said Cutler “failed to use reasonable and due care in the operation of the vehicle he was driving so as to avoid injury to other persons using the roadway, including [Lee],” and noted that Cutler was intoxicated at the time of the crash.