Marino was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, of Italian and Polish ancestry. He is the eldest child of Daniel and Veronica (Kolczynski) Marino, and has two younger sisters, Cindi and Debbie. His father delivered newspapers for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Marino grew up on Parkview Avenue in the South Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, and attended St. Regis Catholic Elementary School. He attended Central Catholic High School in Pittsburgh, where he started in baseball, and won Parade All-American honors in football. He was drafted in the 4th round by the Kansas City Royals in the 1979 amateur draft, but decided to play college football instead.

Marino attended the University of Pittsburgh, and played for the university’s Pittsburgh Panthers football team from 1979 to 1982. As a freshman in 1979, Marino led the Panthers in a 24–17 triumph over West Virginia in the Backyard Brawl and a 29−14 win over longtime rival Penn State. Pitt’s 1980 Marino-led team finished No. 2 in the season ending rankings (The New York Times computer poll rated Pitt as No. 1). Marino was part of an elite team during those two years that included two other future NFL Hall of Fame players: Defensive lineman Rickey Jackson and center Russ Grimm, as well as future Pro Bowl linebacker Hugh Green and future Pro Bowl guard Mark May. In 1980, Pitt added future NFL players Bill Maas, Dwight Collins, and Tim Lewis, while their offensive line got a third future Pro Bowl player: tackle Jimbo Covert. “There were games when my uniform never got dirty,” Marino once remarked. “There were games when I never hit the ground. That’s incredible.”

Following the 1981 regular season, Marino led the Panthers, who had been ranked No. 1 most of the season, to a last-minute triumph over the No. 7 Georgia Bulldogs in the 1982 Sugar Bowl by throwing a game-winning pass to tight end John Brown with less than a minute remaining in the game. Marino later cited this as the most memorable pass he’d thrown in his college career. Overall, during the three seasons from 1979 thru 1981, Pitt garnered 33 wins with only 3 losses (three straight 11–1 seasons) and was constantly ranked in the Top 5 of both major media polls. The Pitt football team’s fortunes and Marinos’s statistics dipped during his senior year, which saw the team transition from head coach Jackie Sherrill to new coach Foge Fazio, culminating in a 7–3 loss in the 1983 Cotton Bowl Classic to Southern Methodist University and their “Pony Express” of Eric Dickerson and Craig James. Marino finished ninth in voting for the Heisman Trophy in 1982, after finishing fourth the previous year. Marino finished his four college seasons with 7,905 passing yards and 74 touchdowns, with 64 interceptions.

Marino’s selection status in the 1983 NFL Draft plummeted after his weaker senior season at Pitt, and rumors of recreational drug use. Five other quarterbacks—Ken O’Brien, Tony Eason, Todd Blackledge, and Hall of Famers Jim Kelly and John Elway—were drafted ahead of him in the first round. Bill Hillgrove, who was with the Marino family on draft day, later recalled that when the New York Jets selected O’Brien, Marino “became visibly ill”. (O’Brien, who played for Division II Cal-Davis, was so obscure that Marino later asked his agent Marvin Demoff “Who is Ken O’Brien?”)

In 1985, Marino threw for 4,137 yards and 30 touchdowns while leading the Dolphins to the AFC Championship game. On September 29, Marino threw for 390 yards and 3 touchdowns in the Dolphins’ 30–26 victory over the Denver Broncos, in the first matchup between Marino and Broncos quarterback John Elway. Then on December 2, Marino threw for 270 yards and 3 touchdowns against the vaunted Chicago Bears defense in a 38–24 victory. The loss was the only one that the Bears experienced that season. Marino led the league in yards and touchdown passes and was named first team All-Pro in 1985.

In 1985, Marino married Claire D. Veazey (born c. 1962) of Mount Lebanon, Pennsylvania at St. Regis Roman Catholic Church, across the street from the home of Marino’s parents. The couple have six children together.

On September 7, 1986, 8 days shy of his 25th birthday, Marino threw his 100th touchdown pass in a 50–28 loss at San Diego. Marino accomplished that feat in just 44 games- the fastest in NFL history. In that 1986 season Marino threw for 4,746 yards and 44 touchdowns. Marino became the first QB in NFL history to record three consecutive seasons of 30 or more touchdown passes; 48 in 1984, 30 in 1985 and 44 in 1986. Marino again led the league in yards and touchdown passes and was named 1986 first team All-Pro.

In 1988, Marino threw for 4,434 yards and 28 touchdowns. As a result of his 4,434 yards passing, Marino became the first QB in NFL history to throw for 4,000 or more yards in four different seasons. Marino had been tied with Dan Fouts for the most 4,000 yard passing seasons with three.

In 1992, Marino again led the Dolphins to the AFC Championship game while passing for 4,116 and 24 touchdowns. His 4,116 passing yards led the entire NFL and marked the fifth time in his NFL career that he led the league in passing yards.

The Dan Marino Foundation was established in 1992 by Marino and his wife, Claire, after their son, Michael, was diagnosed with autism. The foundation has distributed over $22 million to research, services, and treatment programs serving children with neurodevelopment disabilities. The Dan Marino Center, which opened in 1995 along with the Miami Children’s Hospital, is an integrated neurodevelopmental center specializing in the diagnosis and treatment of children at risk for developmental and psychological problems. The center saw more than 48,000 children last year alone. Marino has teamed with other celebrities to raise awareness about autistic spectrum disorders, including fellow NFL quarterback Doug Flutie, whose son also has an autism diagnosis.

In 1993, Miami was strongly favored at the start of the year to make it back to the AFC championship game and possibly the Super Bowl. However, after throwing a swing pass at a game in Cleveland, Marino, who was untouched on the play, crumpled to the ground in pain with a torn Achilles tendon and was out for the season. Marino later said, “I felt like I got kicked”. Backup quarterback Scott Mitchell had an impressive series of starts before suffering an injury of his own. Steve DeBerg started the last 4 games of the season. Mitchell signed a free-agent contract with the Detroit Lions, and Miami signed veteran quarterback Bernie Kosar from the Dallas Cowboys as a backup. Wearing a special shoe on one foot, and having a right calf that was visibly atrophied, Marino was the starting quarterback at the opening of the 1994 season.

In the 1994 season opener, a home game versus the New England Patriots and quarterback Drew Bledsoe, the two quarterbacks put up a combined 894 yards (Marino, 473 yards; Bledsoe, 421 yards) and nine passing touchdowns (Marino, 5; Bledsoe, 4), with Miami winning 39–35. Later in the season, Marino led a comeback win on the road against the New York Jets (28–24), a game famous for Marino’s execution of a fake spike for the winning touchdown pass, a play known as “The Clock Play”. The Dolphins finished 10–6 that year, and Marino passed for 4,453 yards and was named the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year by the Pro Football Writers Association. After missing the postseason in 1993, Miami came back to the playoffs in 1994. Placing third overall in the AFC, Miami was pitted against the Kansas City Chiefs in what became the final NFL game played by Montana. Marino threw 257 yards and two touchdown passes, contributing to Miami’s 27–17 win. The Dolphins reached the AFC Divisional Playoff round, where they competed with the San Diego Chargers. Three touchdown passes by Marino in the first half allowed the Dolphins to lead 21–6, before the Chargers staged a comeback and took the lead toward the end of the fourth quarter. In the final moments of the game, Marino tried to set up a good position for a field goal, but with little time left at the Chargers’ 30-yard line, Pete Stoyanovich was forced to attempt a 48-yard field goal. Stoyanovich missed, ending the game with a 22–21 loss for Miami.

Marino acted in the 1994 comedy Ace Ventura: Pet Detective alongside Jim Carrey and Courteney Cox where he played himself. Marino made a cameo appearance in the Adam Sandler film Little Nicky wherein he asked Satan for a Super Bowl ring. In 1999, he voiced himself in a guest-starring role in The Simpsons Season ten episode “Sunday, Cruddy Sunday”. Marino also had cameo roles in Holy Man and Bad Boys II. He worked as a project consultant on Oliver Stone’s Any Given Sunday, and some observers noticed a resemblance between him and Dennis Quaid’s character, Jack Rooney. Marino’s actual house was used as the fictional quarterback’s house in the film.

Marino started in 14 out of 16 games in the 1995 season. He suffered a hip injury in week 6 against the Indianapolis Colts and was replaced by Bernie Kosar in the following two games. Throughout the regular season, Marino threw 3,668 yards, which included 24 touchdowns. Despite falling to 9–7 and to third place in the AFC East, the Dolphins again advanced to the playoffs because they placed sixth in the AFC. In the wildcard round against the Buffalo Bills, Miami dominated in passing – with Marino passing 432 yards – while Buffalo was far ahead of Miami for rushing yards (341 yards). In terms of scoring, Buffalo held a wide lead throughout the game. The Dolphins remained scoreless until the fourth quarter, when they scored 22 points, which included two touchdown passes from Marino. However, Miami fell well short of a comeback and lost 37–22.

In 1995, Hootie and the Blowfish featured Marino in their music video for their single “Only Wanna Be with You.”

On November 10, 1996 vs. Indianapolis, Marino became the first QB in NFL History to throw for 50,000 career passing yards.

In 1997, Marino became involved in a marketing role with Team Cheever of the Indy Racing League through FirstPlus Mortgage, the sponsor of the car. In 1998, Marino co-owned a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing team with driver Bill Elliott, creating Elliott-Marino Motorsports. The team’s car number was #13, Marino’s uniform number, and had primary sponsorship from FirstPlus Mortgage, whose company colors, coincidentally, were turquoise, orange, and white – similar to aqua and coral, the team colors of the Miami Dolphins. The team chose rookie driver Jerry Nadeau to pilot the car at the start of the season; he was later released and the team went through a rotation of drivers. The team failed to qualify for several races, but did post a top-5 finish at Phoenix International Raceway late in the season with Ted Musgrave driving. The team only lasted the 1998 season and closed afterward.

On November 29, 1998 vs. New Orleans, Marino threw for three TD’s. His second TD pass, a 7 yarder to wide receiver OJ McDuffie, gave him 400 for his career as Marino became the first QB in NFL History to reach 400 career TD passes.

In 1999, Marino was ranked 27th on The Sporting News list of the 100 greatest football players, making him the highest-ranking Dolphins player. In 2010, he was ranked number 25 on the NFL’s Top 100 Greatest Players list. Marino was known for his quick release, and despite the fact that he was not skilled at scrambling, Marino possessed an uncanny awareness in the pocket, often sliding a step or two to avoid the pass rush. Marino is currently sixth, behind Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Brett Favre, John Elway, and Drew Brees, on the list of most wins by a starting quarterback and, with 155, the most of a quarterback not to win a Super Bowl.

Marino’s final win was his first playoff road win and his 36th comeback win, as the Dolphins defeated the Seattle Seahawks 20–17 on January 9, 2000, in the final football game ever in the Seattle Kingdome. In the next round (January 16), also on the road, Marino and the Dolphins lost 62–7 to the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Dolphins’ 55-point margin of loss was the worst in the AFC playoffs’ history. Marino was replaced by backup Damon Huard after playing one series in the second half. However, he did end the first half on a high note, leading the Dolphins on an 80-yard scoring drive and throwing a 20-yard touchdown pass to receiver Oronde Gadsden with 20 seconds remaining. The Jacksonville game marked the end of Jimmy Johnson’s coaching career; Johnson announced his retirement the next day.

Before the 2000 season, Marino decided to retire, after declining offers from Minnesota, Tampa Bay and his hometown of Pittsburgh when the Dolphins declined his option on his contract. Marino later admitted that he seriously considered the offer from the Vikings, but that he turned it down not because of his arm, but because he was not sure that his legs could take another season. He also appreciated the fact that unlike many of his contemporaries, he got to play his entire career with one team.

In 2003, Marino was honored for his outstanding NCAA career at Pitt with an induction into the College Football Hall of Fame. In early 2004, Marino briefly returned to the Miami Dolphins as Senior Vice President of Football Operations, but resigned from the newly created position only three weeks later, saying that the role was not in the best interest of either his family or the Dolphin organization. Marino was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2005, one of only four Dolphins to be elected in their first year of eligibility (Jim Langer, Paul Warfield, Jason Taylor). He was inducted into the Hall of Fame on August 7, 2005 and was introduced by his oldest son, Daniel. During his induction speech, Dan threw “one last pass” to former teammate Mark Clayton, who was sitting in the audience.

On November 7, 2005, the National Basketball Association’s Miami Heat honored Marino’s charitable works and recognized his service to South Florida with a halftime tribute, as well as a large donation to the Marino Foundation. Though a Heat jersey with his name and #13 was unveiled, this did not constitute retirement of his number by the Heat, and was worn by Heat guard/forward Mike Miller as recently as the 2012/2013 NBA season.

Marino was awarded an honorary doctorate degree in broadcast journalism by his alma mater, the University of Pittsburgh, in 2005. He delivered the commencement speech at the university’s 2008 graduation ceremony.

On March 23, 2010, The Dan Marino Foundation held its first “Walk about Autism”. Over 6000 walkers participated, as well as 420 volunteers provided by the Miami Dolphins Special Teams.

In April 2012, Marino became the AARP’s “Men’s Life Ambassador”, through which he planned to share his point of view and expertise on a variety of men’s interests, including health, fitness, sports, lifestyle, entrepreneurship, aging and community service, primarily through the website.

In January 2013, Marino admitted to fathering a child with CBS employee Donna Savattere in 2005, a fact he had only shared with his wife. He had previously paid Savattere several million dollars to keep the news of their daughter from the public.

Marino was an analyst for CBS’s Sunday pregame show The NFL Today, from 2002–2013. On February 18, 2014, it was announced that Marino, along with Shannon Sharpe were being relieved of their duties as on-air commentators on The NFL Today and were being replaced by Tony Gonzalez and Bart Scott. He was formerly a studio analyst on HBO’s Inside the NFL, from 2002–2007. On August 24, 2014, Marino announced he would return to the Dolphins as a special adviser.