The family of former NFL star Aldon Smith is searching for answers following his sudden death at age 36.
According to ESPN, Smith’s family has decided to send his brain to medical experts in Boston to determine whether chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) played a role in his death. The decision comes as attorneys hired by the family continue investigating the circumstances surrounding Smith’s passing.
“As with anyone who dies so suddenly at such a young age, we understand that there is a great deal of interest in and speculation about Aldon’s passing and we intend to get to the bottom of it,” attorneys Harry Daniels, Bakari Sellers and Wayne Kendall said in a statement released Tuesday.
The attorneys added that Smith’s brain would be examined for CTE “as well as other damage caused by years of concussions and additional trauma.”
No official cause of death has been released.
It was reported that Smith was found in a friend’s Chevy pickup truck.
The news adds another heartbreaking chapter to the story of a player whose career was marked by both immense potential and personal struggles.
Smith was selected seventh overall by the San Francisco 49ers in the 2011 NFL Draft and immediately became one of football’s most dominant pass rushers. He recorded 14 sacks as a rookie before exploding for 19.5 sacks in 2012, a franchise record that still stands. At just 23 years old, Smith appeared destined to become one of the league’s premier defensive players.
Instead, his career became increasingly defined by off-field struggles.
Smith was arrested multiple times throughout his NFL career and faced repeated suspensions related to violations of the league’s substance abuse and personal conduct policies. He eventually spent four seasons out of football before briefly returning with the Dallas Cowboys in 2020.
Yet those who knew Smith often described a different side of him. According to ESPN, Smith spent the hours before his death delivering pizzas to a charity serving homeless individuals. In recent years, he had also launched a mentorship program called “I.M. Loading,” designed to help young athletes navigate many of the same personal challenges he experienced.
The family’s decision to investigate potential CTE involvement reflects a growing reality across professional football.
CTE is a degenerative brain disease linked to repetitive head trauma. The condition can only be diagnosed after death and has been associated with depression, impulsive behavior, memory loss, mood disorders and severe personality changes.
Several former NFL players whose lives ended tragically were later found to have suffered from the disease.
Perhaps the most notable case involved Hall of Fame linebacker Junior Seau. Following his death in 2012, researchers studying Seau’s brain concluded he suffered from advanced CTE. Family members later described dramatic personality changes, depression, emotional withdrawal and sleep issues during the final years of his life.
Former Aaron Hernandez was diagnosed with Stage 3 CTE after his death in prison at age 27. Researchers at Boston University described the damage as among the most severe they had ever seen in someone so young. The areas of Hernandez’s brain most affected were responsible for judgment, impulse control, emotional regulation and decision-making.
Another frequently cited case is former Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher. After Belcher’s 2012 murder-suicide, an examination of his brain revealed evidence consistent with CTE, including tau protein deposits associated with the disease.
Researchers have consistently cautioned against drawing direct lines between CTE and specific actions or crimes. However, medical experts have also acknowledged that the disease can contribute to impulsivity, depression, aggression, poor judgment and behavioral changes.
Whether CTE played any role in Smith’s life or death remains unknown.
Just days before his death, Smith spoke candidly about lifelong personal struggles during a YouTube interview, saying he had “definitely had better days” while acknowledging difficulties he was still trying to understand and accept.
For now, the examination being conducted in Boston may provide answers that Smith’s family, and perhaps the broader football community, have been seeking.
Regardless of what the findings reveal, Smith’s death has reopened difficult questions about the long-term effects of repetitive head trauma and the hidden toll football can take long after a player’s final snap.
