Browns Michael Dean Perry McDonald’s MDP burger: A return, and HOF nomination, should both happen

Talented defensive lineman had his own sandwich

The Cleveland Browns have always been about the defense and the rushing attack. This year, the defense is expected to return to its status as one of the best in the league. They were ranked #1 in 2023 under DC Jim Schwartz.

Former Browns defensive tackle Michael Dean Perry just continued this trend of exceptional defensive linemen who have called Cleveland home.

RELATED: MICHAEL DEAN PERRY INTERVIEW

Perry had an exceptional college career at Clemson. He was named First Team All-ACC in both 1986 and 1987. He was voted the ACC Player of the Year in 1987 and was a First Team All-American the same year.

Perry set the school record for career tackles for loss (61) and was tied for second in career sacks (28). In his final year, he was a finalist for the Outland Trophy, which recognizes the nation’s best lineman.

The Browns selected Perry in the second round of the 1988 NFL draft. He played in all 16 games with two starts as a rookie. He had 25 tackles with six sacks and, at season’s end, was named to the PFWA NFL All-Rookie Team.

From his first day at training camp, Perry always performed at an elite level and was a very durable player in his 10-year career.

It didn’t take Perry long to make his mark in the NFL. In just his second season, he netted seven sacks with 92 total tackles and became known as a key run stopper. For his efforts, he earned his first Pro Bowl and was voted First Team All-Pro, and UPI named him their “Defensive Player of the Year.”

This only escalated for Perry’s tenure with Cleveland.

His best season was in 1990 when he had an unheard of 107 total tackles from an interior defensive lineman. Calais Campbell has the most career total tackles as a defensive tackle, but in his best year, he only had 72 in a single season.

Perry also contributed 11.5 sacks, with one fumble recovery, two forced fumbles, and 16 starts. For obvious reasons, he earned his second First Team All-Pro honors and was named to his second Pro Bowl.

The next two seasons with the Browns, he had 8.5 sacks each year with 132 combined tackles, and was selected for another Pro Bowl.

During this time, Michael Dean Perry was one of the more televised players in Cleveland during his stay with the Browns.

Honored by a sandwich

With all of this success on the field, Perry became a fan favorite. Today, you can see thousands of Myles Garrett #95 jerseys at Browns home games. Back in the early 1990s, it was Perry’s #92 that dotted the stands.

All throughout the history of professional sports, athletes have been paid to advertise various products. Marlboro cigarettes have always been perceived as a masculine brand, and that is thanks to the “Marlboro cowboy.” One of the original portrayals of the cowboy was Charlie Conerly, the quarterback for the New York Football Giants.

(Disclaimer: We all know now cigarettes are very unhealthy, but marketing was a huge part of popularizing them.)

We have all seen candy bars named after players and the images of elite athletes on the front of a box of Wheaties cereal. And various players have had a sandwich named after them.

Burger King had the “Gilbert Browns Gravedigger,” which was basically a double Whopper named after the Green Bay Packers defensive tackle. In Jacksonville, Florida, the local McDonald’s tendered the “Boseli Burger” after offensive tackle Tony Boseli, which contained three beef patties on the same sesame seed bun that the McRib is sold, with lettuce, tomato, onion, mayo, and two different kinds of cheese (Monterey Jack and American). In the San Diego area, the “Seau Sack” was offered by Ike’s Love & Sandwiches, which was a triple cheeseburger, fries, and a large Coke.

And in the Cleveland area, McDonald’s offered the “MDP” burger after the Browns star defensive tackle’s initials.

The sandwich was unveiled in 1991. At the time, the largest sandwich on the McDonald’s menu was the Big Mac. The MDP was a triple cheeseburger with bacon added to the other toppings, such as lettuce, onions, pickles, and tomatoes, plus assorted condiments.

This was not only a solid sandwich, but it was huge. In today’s fast-food universe, bacon is on numerous hamburgers, but back in the early 1990s, adding bacon to a burger was something new and unexpected.

And what was strange is that this burger offering at the nation’s largest hamburger fast food restaurant wasn’t about the Browns’ star quarterback Bernie Kosar, or sensational running back Leroy Hoard, or their electric receivers Webster Slaughter and Reggie Langhorne, or even perennial Pro Bowl linebacker Clay Matthews.

No, sir. McDonald’s chose a 6’-1”, 285-pound defensive tackle, one of the most unsung positions on a football roster.

Keep in mind, Perry was just in his fourth season and had already been named to the NFL All-Rookie Team, selected for three Pro Bowls, voted First Team All-Pro twice, plus “AFC Defensive Player of the Year.” And being youthful with an enthusiastic, infectious personality as a fan favorite was exactly what McDonald’s marketing outfit, the Leo Burnett Advertising Agency, wanted. The commercials ran from 1991 to 1993.

The limited-time sandwich was only available in the Metro Cleveland area. At the time, the MDP was the largest burger ever offered by McDonald’s.

Since this time, many fast-food outlets offer a three-patty sandwich, such as Wendy’s, Fatburger, Five Guys, In-N-Out, Burger King, and Whataburger. But in the 1990s, this was considered colossal in terms of fast food. Basically, the MDP was the king of burgers, although a short-lived menu item.

Perry did quite a few television spots for the MDP, and in every commercial, he was decked out in his Browns jersey, which gave great positive publicity for the franchise.

The giant sandwich was nothing fancy, but tasty, filling, delectable, satisfying, and got the job done, much like Perry himself and the city he represented.

And the cost? Would you believe $1.99?

On the menu today, McDonald’s bacon double quarter-pounder with cheese is $10.19. In a combo, that advances the price to $14.89. And that’s just two hamburger patties instead of three.

With all the success and attention Garrett generates as an elite player for the Browns, is it an oddity that McDonald’s hasn’t developed a sandwich in his honor as well, just like with Perry?

The McGarrett? And maybe “the sack” the food comes in could become the focus instead of the burger itself, with a play on words.

Or how about this: Can McDonald’s just bring back the MDP?

Two likely Hall of Famers on the wait list

Perry was an absolute beast. He had several nicknames, including “The Machine” and the “Ice Box” in reference to his brother William “The Refrigerator” Perry.

His career stats include 148 games played, 127 starts, 565 total tackles, 61 sacks, eight fumble recoveries, 13 forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery for a touchdown. Other defensive stats, such as pressures, weren’t readily available for his era.

Perry added another Pro Bowl while with Cleveland in 1994 and was named Second Team All-Pro that year as well. He then played for the Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs, where he earned yet another Pro Bowl in 1996. In all, he was voted to the Pro Bowl six times, selected First Team All-Pro twice, and Second Team All-Pro once.

He was later added to the “Cleveland Browns Legends” program in their inaugural class of 2001, along with Kosar, RB Greg Pruitt, and WR Ray Renfro. Being inducted into the maiden class of this team distinction is an honor in itself.

Which brings us to the “Pro Football Hall of Fame.” We know that Garrett will become a first-ballot Hall of Fame inductee once he retires and then waits the five-year delay period, but why isn’t Perry enshrined?

Perry is certainly on a list of possible enshrinees, but so far, he hasn’t been nominated. He is recorded on a Hall of Fame monitor with a grade of 57.63. Usually, it takes a grade of 100 or higher to get serious consideration.

He has the 25^th most total tackles of every defensive lineman on the list, and 39^th in sacks.

But what separates Perry from the rest of the pack is his accolades. How many players have seen multiple Pro Bowls, much less six? Defensive Player of the Year? ACC Player-of-the-Year? Three times named NFL All-Pro? He was also named to Pro Football Reference’s 1990s All-Decade Team and the Sporting News’ All-Pro First Team for five straight years.

There are 13 defensive tackles named to six or more Pro Bowls, starting with Merlin Olsen of the Los Angeles Rams, who has 14. All but Perry are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

LINK: PFRA HALL OF VERY GOOD INDUCTEES

Perry was inducted into the “NFL Hall of Very Good” (HOVG) in 2023. The Hall of Very Good is a secondary Hall sponsored by the Professional Football Researchers Association (PFRA). This Hall represents players who had outstanding careers, but for one reason or another haven’t attracted the attention of the Pro Football Hall of Fame folks.

LINK: JOIN THE PFRA

The PFRA produces a magazine entitled “Coffin Corner,” in which Perry was interviewed and discussed his admission into his HOVG class.

All that is left from Perry’s distinguished career with the Browns (and in the NFL) is to be considered for the ultimate honor of being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

And if this ultimately becomes a reality, the event should be catered with MDP combos for everyone. Bon appétit!