He attended South Saint Paul High School and played college football for the Minnesota Golden Gophers.
In addition to being a 3-year starter in football, Carter played two years of varsity hockey for the Golden Gophers and was later drafted by the St. Paul Fighting Saints.
After retiring from the Packers, Carter bought a struggling Ford dealership in Eau Claire, WI.
After building the dealership back to profitability and respectability, Carter went on to acquire numerous other automotive businesses around Wisconsin: Bob Johnson Chevrolet-Mazda in Wausau, Car City Honda in Chippewa Falls, Borum-Dyer Volkswagen-Audi in Eau Claire, and Ken Loesch Cadillac-Pontiac-Oldsmobile in Chippewa Falls.
[1] Carter was a finalist for a position on the University of Minnesota Board of Regents when issue was made of a publicized incident of sexual harassment during his NFL playing days in 1976.