The Big Lead

Jim Irsay: ESPN Investigation Reveals Details About Relationship With Woman Who Overdosed in Home Bought By Colts Owner

By Ryan Glasspiegel

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Jim Irsay has had a very tumultuous year. Though he just finished serving his six-game suspension stemming from the incident in which he was arrested with a laundry bag full of cash and prescription medication and pleaded guilty to OWI, his troubles are likely not fully behind him.

In April, the Indianapolis Star reported that a woman named Kimberly Wundrum died of a suspected overdose in a home that was bought for her by a trust controlled by the Colts. Nine days later, Irsay was pulled over in the incident that has received the most coverage.

  • The condo in which Ms. Wundrum passed away was actually the third residence purchased for her by Irsay. He first bought her a condo in 2006. In 2010, Ms. Wundrum did a stint in rehab (there would be several), and returned healthy, and Irsay bought a 4,500-square foot house for the two of them to live in together.
  • Though Irsay was legally separated from his wife Meg (their divorce was finalized earlier this year), he still kept up appearances with her in public. Throughout the tenure of her relationship with Irsay, Ms. Wundrum and her step-children from a previous marriage were provided for, but did not interact with Irsay’s children. Ms. Wundrum was alternately afraid to rock the boat and anxious about being a second-class citizen, but her family has nothing but positive things to say about Irsay.
  • In 2011, Irsay met a new woman named Jami Martin. The relationship supposedly began by way of direct messages after she responded to one of Irsay’s famous Twitter trivia contests. When Irsay was pulled over, it was near Ms. Martin’s house, which prompted her ex-husband Greg (who has sent a string of tweets accusing Irsay of being a homewrecker) to petition a court to forbid Irsay from seeing the Martins’ children.
  • When Irsay met Ms. Martin, he apparently began phasing out Ms. Wundrum. During another stint in rehab last Spring, Irsay had Ms. Wundrum’s belongings packed up and moved out of the house they shared into a new condo that he purchased for her. Irsay provided her with a $6,000-a-month allowance, but it’s unknown whether he ever gave her an explanation for dissolving their relationship.

ESPN’s story goes into even more thorough detail, and we recommend that you carve out the time to read the whole thing.