Than Merrill

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Nathaniel "Than" Merrill (born December 12, 1977) is an American businessman, television personality, and former professional football player. He is the co-owner of the real estate company CT Homes and the real estate investing educational company FortuneBuilders Inc. He was featured in the A&E's Flip This House in seasons 3 and 4 as part airing in 2007 to 2009, of the "New Haven" team.

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Football career

In high school Merrill was selected as an All-Far West Quarterback. In college, he started as a strong safety at Yale University, where he was named to Yale's First-Team All-Ivy Selections from 1999-2001. After graduating from Yale he was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 7th round of the 2001 NFL Draft, but ultimately signed as a free agent with the Chicago Bears for the 2001 season. He spent one season with the Bears, and registered 7 tackles. He was later allocated by the Bears to the Barcelona Dragons of NFL Europe. In 2003, Merrill was signed by the Buccaneers and was allocated again to NFLE, this time to the Amsterdam Admirals. In 2003, Merrill suffered a career-ending knee injury.

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Real estate career

Merrill co-founded CT Homes, LLC in 2004. The residential real estate investment company purchases, redevelops, and sells residential, multi-family, and commercial property.

Merrill and CT Homes caught the attention of the producers of Flip This House, a popular reality TV show featured on A&E, during their nationwide search for a real estate investing business. The show documented and educated prospective entrepreneurs on the intricacies of buying and selling real estate. Merrill's "New Haven" team was featured on the last three seasons, from 2007 to 2009.

Merrill helped open Realty National Inc., a San Diego Real Estate Brokerage affiliated with CT Homes, in 2011. Realty National Inc. was established in Pacific Beach, San Diego and has continued to open other offices throughout California and the United States including; Orange County, Sacramento and Boston, MA. Merrill wrote The Real Estate Wholesaling Bible: The Fastest, Easiest Way to Get Started in Real Estate, which was published on April 21, 2014.

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Philanthropy

In 2010, he and his wife Cindy Phillips started the Equal Footing Foundation, a charitable organization that provides scholarships and funding to young athletes who can't afford to participate in local sports teams and clubs.

Merrill founded FortuneBuilders Gives, an extension of FortuneBuilders.com. FortuneBuilders Gives has raised approximately $184,000 and worked with 129 charities on various food, clothing, and school supply drives.