A football player from Bucks County will soon participate in one of the country’s most popular televisions shows, with a big prize on the line. Maggie Mancini wrote about the local player for Philly Voice.

Brandon Cottom, a former football fullback from Newtown, will compete in the new season of “Survivor” for a chance to win $1 million.

Cottom spent years watching the long-running reality TV competition to bond with his father. Once he left for college he stopped, but he and his dad picked up where they left off after he moved back to Newtown.

Cottom is currently working as a security specialist, but he is much better known for his football career. He played four years at Purdue University, after which he joined the Seattle Seahawks for two seasons, most of which he spent on injured reserve. He later played in the Arena Football League for the Philadelphia Soul before retiring at the end of the 2019 season.

He sees going to Fiji as part of the 44th “Survivor” season – which will debut on Monday – as a chance to learn more about himself as well as creating a better future for his family.

“It’s very rare that we have the opportunity to kind of detach ourselves from civilization,” he said.

Read more about Brandon Cottom in Philly Voice.

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