List of gridiron football players who died during their careers

This is a list of players of gridiron football (American football and Canadian football) players who died while still on a team roster. Included are players in professional and college football who have died of any cause. For professional football players, the most common cause of death is vehicle crashes. For college players, the most common cause of death is in-game and practice injuries. Each player is listed with the team to which he was assigned at the time of his death, rather than the team with which he spent most of his career. Players who were free agents at the time of their death are not listed.

National Football League

For players who joined the military during wartime and were killed in action, see List of National Football League players who died in wars.

†	= Pro Bowler
‡	= Hall of Famer

1922–1965

Name	Age	Position	Team	Cause of death	Year
Ralph Anderson	24	WR	Los Angeles Chargers (AFL)	Diabetic reaction	1960
Jeff Burkett	26	WR / P	Chicago Cardinals	Plane crash	1947
Ernie Davis	23	HB	Cleveland Browns	Leukemia	1963 [lower-alpha 1]
Terry Dillon	22	DB	Minnesota Vikings	Drowned	1964
Bo Farrington	28	TE	Chicago Bears	Car crash (with Willie Galimore)	1964
Don Fleming	25	S	Cleveland Browns	Accidental electrocution	1963
Willie Galimore †	29	HB	Chicago Bears	Car crash (with Bo Farrington)	1964
Howard Glenn	26	G	New York Titans (AFL)	Neck injury (in-game)	1960
Ching Hammill	23	BB	Providence Steam Roller	Crushed by electric crane	1925
Mack Lee Hill †	25	FB	Kansas City Chiefs (AFL)	Pulmonary embolism	1965
Stone Johnson	23	HB	Kansas City Chiefs (AFL)	Neck injury (in-game)	1963 [lower-alpha 2]
Mose Kelsch	38	K	Pittsburgh Pirates	Car crash	1935
Bob Laraba	28	LB	San Diego Chargers (AFL)	Car crash	1962
Gene Lipscomb †	31	DT	Pittsburgh Steelers	Drug overdose	1963
Stan Mauldin	27	OT	Chicago Cardinals	Heart attack	1948
Lucien Reeberg	21	OT	Detroit Lions	Heart attack	1964
Dave Sparks	26	DT	Washington Redskins	Heart attack	1954

1966–1995

Name	Age	Position	Team	Cause of death	Year
Jeff Alm	25	DT	Houston Oilers	Suicide	1993
Eric Andolsek	25	G	Detroit Lions	Car crash	1992
Troy Archer	24	DE	New York Giants	Car crash	1979
Brad Beckman	24	TE	Atlanta Falcons	Car crash	1989
Jerome Brown †	27	DT	Philadelphia Eagles	Car crash	1992
Frank Buncom †	29	LB	Cincinnati Bengals (AFL)	Blood clot	1969
J. V. Cain	28	TE	St. Louis Cardinals	Heart attack	1979
Rusty Chambers	27	LB	Miami Dolphins	Car crash	1981
Kirk Collins	25	CB	Los Angeles Rams	Esophageal cancer	1984
David Croudip	30	DB	Atlanta Falcons	Drug overdose	1988
Shane Curry	24	DE	Indianapolis Colts	Homicide	1992
Joe Delaney †	24	RB	Kansas City Chiefs	Drowned	1983
Jim Duncan	26	CB	Baltimore Colts	Suicide	1972
Blenda Gay	26	DE	Philadelphia Eagles	Homicide	1976
Larry Gordon	28	LB	Miami Dolphins	Heart attack	1983
David Griggs	28	LB	San Diego Chargers	Car crash	1995
Roger Hagberg	31	TE	Oakland Raiders (AFL)	Car crash	1970
Chuck Hughes	28	WR	Detroit Lions	Cardiac arrest (in-game), compounded by spleen injury from a previous game	1971
Bruce McLenna	26	FB	Kansas City Chiefs (AFL)	Car crash	1968
Ralph Norwood	23	OT	Atlanta Falcons	Car crash	1989
David Overstreet	25	RB	Miami Dolphins	Car crash	1984
Brian Piccolo	26	HB	Chicago Bears	Embryonal cell carcinoma	1970
Ron Rector	24	HB	Atlanta Falcons	Motorcycle crash	1968
Don Rogers	23	S	Cleveland Browns	Drug overdose	1986
Andy Spiva	24	LB	Atlanta Falcons	Car crash	1979
Stacey Toran	27	DB	Los Angeles Raiders	Car crash	1989
Fred Washington	23	DT	Chicago Bears	Car crash	1990
Dave Waymer †	34	S	Los Angeles Raiders	Heart attack	1993

1996–2021

Name	Age	Position	Team	Cause of death	Year
Gaines Adams	26	DE	Chicago Bears	Cardiac arrest	2010
Jovan Belcher	25	LB	Kansas City Chiefs	Suicide	2012
Leon Bender	22	DT	Oakland Raiders	Seizure	1998
Jerry Brown	25	LB	Dallas Cowboys	Car crash	2012
Brandon Burlsworth	22	G	Indianapolis Colts	Car crash	1999
Marcus Cassel	23	CB	Carolina Panthers	Car crash	2006
Marquis Cooper	26	LB	Oakland Raiders	Presumed dead from boating accident; body never found	2009
Rodney Culver	26	RB	San Diego Chargers	Plane crash	1996
Chris Henry	26	WR	Cincinnati Bengals	Fell out of back of a moving vehicle	2009
Thomas Herrion	23	G	San Francisco 49ers	Ischaemic heart disease	2005
Marquise Hill	24	DE	New England Patriots	Drowned	2007
Edwin Jackson	26	LB	Indianapolis Colts	Car crash	2018
Fred Lane	24	RB	Carolina Panthers	Homicide	2000
Kenny McKinley	23	WR	Denver Broncos	Suicide	2010
O.J. Murdock	25	WR	Tennessee Titans	Suicide	2012
Damien Nash	24	RB	Denver Broncos	Cardiac failure	2007
Corey Smith	29	DE	Detroit Lions	Presumed dead from boating accident, body never found	2009
Korey Stringer †	27	OT	Minnesota Vikings	Heat stroke	2001
Sean Taylor †	24	FS	Washington Redskins	Homicide	2007
Derrick Thomas ‡	33	LB	Kansas City Chiefs	Pulmonary embolism	2000
Eric Turner †	31	S	Oakland Raiders	Stomach cancer	2000
Tray Walker	23	CB	Baltimore Ravens	Motorcycle crash	2016
Darrent Williams	24	CB	Denver Broncos	Homicide	2007

2022–present

Name	Age	Position	Team	Cause of death	Year
Jaylon Ferguson	26	LB, DE	Baltimore Ravens	Drug overdose	2022
Jeff Gladney	25	CB	Arizona Cardinals	Car crash	2022
Dwayne Haskins	24	QB	Pittsburgh Steelers	Hit by vehicle while walking	2022
Khyree Jackson	24	CB	Minnesota Vikings	Car crash	2024

Arena Football League and af2

Name	Age	Position	Team	Cause of death	Year	Reference(s)
Johnathan Goddard	27	DE	Colorado Crush	Motorcycle crash	2008
Al Lucas	26	DT	Los Angeles Avengers	In-game neck injury	2005
Justin Skaggs	28	QB	Utah Blaze	Stage III oligodendroglioma brain cancer	2007
Johnie Kirton	26	RB	San Jose SaberCats	methadone toxicity/unknown	2012
Julian Yearwood	31	FB/LB	Bakersfield Blitz	Clogged arteries	2003	[1]
Chandler Williams	27	WR	Tampa Bay Storm	Cardiac arrest	2013

Canadian Football League

Name	Age	Position	Team	Cause of death	Year	Reference(s)
Allen Gallaher	26	OL	BC Lions	Heart attack	1977	[2]
Mylan Hicks	23	DB	Calgary Stampeders	Homicide	2016	[3]
Joe McKnight	28	RB	Saskatchewan Roughriders	Homicide	2016	[4]
Tom Pate	23	LB	Hamilton Tiger-Cats	Aneurysm (in game)	1975	[5]
Christian Saulsberry	25	WR	Edmonton Elks	Homicide	2022	[6]
Derrell Robertson	27	DE	Las Vegas Posse	Car crash	1994	[7]
Adrian Robinson	25	LB	Hamilton Tiger-Cats	Suicide	2015	[8]
Ted Watkins	27	WR	Hamilton Tiger-Cats	Shot while robbing a liquor store	1968

Continental Football League

Name	Age	Position	Team	Cause of death	Year	Reference(s)
Glen Hepburn	29	Two-way end	Omaha Mustangs	Injuries sustained during game vs Michigan Arrows	1968	[9]

United Football League

Name	Age	Position	Team	Cause of death	Year	Reference(s)
Donald Sellers	26	Wide receiver	Las Vegas Outlaws (XFL)	Car crash	2001	[10]
Troy Stark	28	Offensive lineman	New York/New Jersey Hitmen (XFL)	Complications from surgery	2001	[11]
Chris Brown	24	Offensive lineman	DC Defenders (XFL)	Drowned	2021	[12] [13]
Jessie Lemonier	25	Linebacker	Birmingham Stallions (USFL)	Unknown	2023	[14]
Chris Smith	28	Defensive end	Seattle Sea Dragons (XFL)	Unknown	2023	[15]
Alex Collins	28	Running back	Memphis Showboats (USFL)	Motorcycle accident	2023	[16]

New England Football League

Name	Age	Position	Team	Cause of death	Year	Reference(s)
Odin Lloyd	27	Linebacker	Boston Bandits	Homicide	2013	[17]

College

Player	Age	School	Position	Cause of death	Year	Ref(s)
Bennie Abram III	20	Mississippi	Safety	Exercise collapse associated with sickle cell trait	2010	[18]
Brandon Adams	21	Georgia Tech	Nose tackle	Collapsed and hit head while dancing	2019	[19]
Ted Agu	21	California	Defensive end	Exercise collapse associated with sickle cell trait	2014	[20]
John Airhart	19	Simmons College	Quarterback	Traumatic brain injury sustained during 1909 game vs. Howard Payne	1910
John Albert		Chicago	Multiple	Stomach ailment	1914
John Allen	24	Christian Brothers College	Tackle	Traumatic brain injury sustained during game vs. St. Louis University alumni team	1899	[21]
Kyle Ambrogi	21	Pennsylvania	Running back	Suicide	2005
Avery Atkins	20	University of Florida	Cornerback	Ecstasy overdose	2007	[22]
Sal Aunese	21	University of Colorado	Quarterback	Stomach cancer	1989	[23]
Walter Back	22	Oregon		Blood poisoning	1935
George T. Bahen	21	Georgetown	Halfback	Spinal cord injury sustained during 1894 game vs. Columbia Athletic Club	1895	[24]
Marlin Barnes	22	University of Miami	Linebacker	Homicide	1996
Charles Beccara		Lehigh	Guard	Accidental self-inflicted gunshot	1895	[25]
Bryce Beekman	22	Washington State	Cornerback	Acute intoxication after consuming fentanyl and promethazine	2020	[26]
Verner Belyea		Norwich College	Halfback	Spinal cord injury sustained during game vs. Holy Cross	1913
Heath Benedict	24	Newberry College	Offensive tackle	Enlarged heart	2008	[27]
Brook Berringer	22	University of Nebraska	Quarterback	Plane crash	1996
Preston Birdsong	19	Tennessee Tech	Defensive back	Exercise collapse associated with sickle cell trait	2000
Edward Bohn	22	Missouri Mines	Halfback	Spinal cord injury sustained during game vs. Central Missouri	1920
Austin Box	22	University Of Oklahoma	Linebacker	Accidental opioid overdose	2011
Tajh Boyd	19	Liberty University	Offensive lineman	Suicide	2023	[28]
Cary Brown		Presbyterian	End	Spinal cord injury sustained during practice	1923
Hunter Brown	21	Air Force Academy	Offensive lineman	Blood clot in lungs following an injury suffered in practice	2023	[29]
Michael Burke	21	Medico-Chirurgical College	Tackle	Traumatic brain injury sustained during game vs. Philadelphia Pharmacy	1909	[30]
Eugene Byrne	21	Army	Tackle	Traumatic brain and spinal cord injury sustained during game vs. Harvard	1909	[31]
Derringer Cade	20	Northeast Missouri State	Linebacker	Idiopathic hypertropic cardiomyopathy sustained during game vs. Southwest Baptist University	1990
Ronnie Caldwell	21	Northwestern State	Safety	Homicide	2023	[32]
Leon Carey	20	Arkansas A&M		Cerebral hemorrhage	1931	[33]
Devin Chandler	20	Virginia	Wide receiver	Homicide	2022	[34]
Archer Christian	18	Virginia	Halfback	Traumatic brain injury sustained during game vs. Georgetown	1909	[35]
Ladarius Clardy	18	Kennesaw State	Quarterback	Homicide	2021	[36]
Leonard Clarkson	23	Norwich College	End	Internal injuries sustained during game vs. Dartmouth	1907	[37]
Hiram Cole	19	Central Methodist		Traumatic brain injury sustained during game vs. Missouri Military	1916
Jeremiah Collins	18	Austin Peay State	Cornerback	Car crash	2023	[38]
John Cooper		North Carolina		Spinal cord injury sustained during practice	1908	[39]
E.L. Cowden		Eastman Business College		Internal injuries sustained during game vs. Poughkeepsie High School	1899	[40]
John Crumbacher		Tennessee	Offensive tackle	Car crash	1966	[41]
John Curley	20	Trinity College (IA)		Unknown	1924
Carl Dahlbeck	25	Purdue	Guard	Burn injury	1936	[42]
Tom McGannon	20	Purdue	Halfback	Burn injury	1936	[43]
Mario Danelo	21	USC	Kicker	Fall from a cliff	2007	[44]
Marcus "MJ" Daniels Jr.	21	Southern Miss	Cornerback	Homicide	2024	[45]
Devaughn Darling	18	Florida State	Linebacker	Exercise collapse associated with sickle cell trait	2001
Donald Davis		Emporia State	Halfback	Internal injuries sustained during game vs. Baker	1921
Lavel Davis Jr.	21	Virginia	Wide receiver	Homicide	2022	[34]
Ernest Dickson	21	Arkansas	Halfback	Pneumonia	1908
Ovid Donaldson		McMurry	End	Spinal cord injury sustained diving into a swimming pool	1927
Gardner Dow	21	University of Connecticut	Center	Traumatic brain injury sustained during game vs. New Hampshire	1919	[46]
Butch Duhe	20	LSU	Quarterback	Congenital heart defect	1970
W.L. Egan		Northwestern Oklahoma State	Halfback	Traumatic brain injury	1910
Jake Ehlinger	20	Texas	Linebacker	Accidental overdose	2021	[47]
Richard Evans		College of Wooster	Halfback	Spinal cord injury sustained during game vs. Western Reserve	1907
Thomas Evans		Utah State	Guard	Spinal cord injury sustained during game vs. Colorado Mines	1908
James Fenton	21	Holy Cross	Tackle	Spinal cord injury sustained during practice	1928
G. Cook Ferebee	19	VMI	Halfback	Traumatic brain injury sustained during game vs. Roanoke College	1908
Oliver Ferry		Alfred		Internal injuries sustained during 1920 game vs. Allegheny	1921
Tom Fisher		Tennessee	Linebacker	Car crash	1966	[41]
Miles Fox	19	Navy	Running back	Sunstroke sustained during practice	1928
Richard Von Albade Gammon	17	Georgia	Fullback	Traumatic brain injury sustained during game vs. Virginia	1897
E. Herbert Garrison	22	Dickinson	End	Traumatic brain injury sustained during game vs. Swarthmore	1886	[48]
Clayton Geib	21	College of Wooster	Offensive guard	Cerebral edema following game vs. Ohio Wesleyan	2017
George Gipp	25	University of Notre Dame	Multiple	Strep throat infection and pneumonia	1920
Eric Goll	20	Chadron State	Defensive lineman	Exercise collapse associated with sickle cell trait	2016
Harry Goodloe	20	Central (KY)		Internal injuries sustained during game vs. Kentucky	1894	[49]
Leo Goodreau	19	Villanova	Quarterback	Spinal cord injury sustained during practice	1928
Robert Grays	19	Midwestern State	Defensive back	Spinal cord injury sustained during game vs. Texas A&M-Kingsville	2017
Reuben Gretschow	23	Elmhurst	Tackle	Spinal cord injury sustained during game vs. Valparaiso	1931	[33]
Lewis Grisler	21	Ohio Wesleyan	End	Heart failure sustained during practice	1906
Theodore Hammonds	23	Warner	Wide receiver	Exercise collapse	2010
Jack Hartsock	17	Ohio Wesleyan		Unknown	1935
Tyler Heintz	19	Kent State	Offensive lineman	Exertional heat stroke following conditioning drills	2017
Tyler Hilinski	21	Washington State University	Quarterback	Suicide	2018	[50]
Edwin Hill	25	NYU	Halfback	Accidental gunshot	1929	[51] [52]
Henry Hooper	20	Dartmouth	Center	Complications from appendicitis surgery	1904	[53]
Charles Hope		Corning Free Academy		Injuries received during a game	1903	[54]
Jasper Howard	20	University of Connecticut	Cornerback	Homicide (stabbed)	2009	[55]
Jaden Hullaby	21	University of New Mexico	Halfback/Tight end	Unknown	2023	[56]
James Jamieson		Cornell	Quarterback	Typhoid fever	1907
Tommy Johnson	24	Kansas	Quarterback	Kidney failure related to injury sustained during game vs. Missouri	1911	[57]
Harry Jordan	19	Sioux Falls College	Running back	Spinal cord injury sustained during game vs. South Dakota	1902
Ty Jordan	19	Utah	Running back	Accidental gunshot	2020	[58]
Kosta Karageorge	22	Ohio State	Defensive lineman	Suicide	2014	[59]
Ryan Keeler	20	UNLV	Defensive lineman	Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy	2023	[60]
Harry Knight		Drexel	Fullback	Crushed skull during practice game against Penn	1894	[61]
Luke Knox	22	FIU	Linebacker/Tight end	Unknown	2022	[62]
Mariushi Kuwamoto	28	Hawaii	Halfback	Traumatic brain injury sustained during game vs. Kamehameha School	1917
Charles Lange	19	Montana State		Spinal cord injury sustained during practice	1911
Myzelle Law	19	MidAmerica Nazarene University	Defensive lineman	Heat-related injuries at practice	2023	[63]
Robert Layfield	18	Johns Hopkins	Quarterback	Spinal cord injury sustained during 1914 game vs. Lehigh	1915
Robert Lewin		Baltimore Medical College	Guard	Heart failure during game vs. Navy	1903
Dale Lloyd II	19	Rice	Defensive back	Exercise collapse associated with sickle cell trait	2006	[20]
Aaron Lowe	21	Utah	Cornerback	Homicide	2021	[64]
Lyons		Washington & Jefferson		Injuries received during a game	1892	[65]
Justin McAllister	19	Sacramento City College Panthers	Offensive tackle	Heart failure	2023	[66]
Ralph McClure	21	Colorado College	Back	Spinal cord injury sustained during game vs. Colorado	1932
Robert McKee		Alma	Tackle	Internal injuries sustained during game vs. Detroit Athletic Club	1901
Gordon McMillan	21	West Virginia	Quarterback	Pneumonia	1924
Jordan McNair	19	Maryland	Offensive lineman	Liver failure (caused by heatstroke)	2018	[20] [67]
Camdan McWright	18	San Jose State	Running back	Traffic collision (hit by a school bus while riding an electric scooter)	2022	[68]
Wayne Merrifield	21	Michigan State Normal College		Internal injuries	1931	[33]
Walter Merryman	22	Davis & Elkins	Halfback	Traumatic brain injury sustained during game vs. Western Maryland	1911
Keith Miller	23	Texas A&M–Commerce	Wide receiver	Unknown	2024	[69]
Darius Minor	18	University of Maine	Defensive back	Aortic dissection	2018	[20] [70]
James Mock	19	Roanoke College		Pneumonia (caused by internal injuries sustained during practice)	1910
Rudolph Monk	29	West Virginia	Halfback	Traumatic brain injury sustained during game vs. Bethany College (WV)	1910
Howard Montgomery	21	Hampden-Sydney	Tackle	Spinal cord injury sustained during practice	1905	[71]
Harold P. Moore	19	Union (NY)	Halfback	Traumatic brain injury sustained during game vs. NYU	1905	[71]
Ed Morrissey	21	St. Ambrose College		Pneumonia and blood poisoning	1913
Anthony Mostella	22	South Alabama	Running back	Motorcycle crash	2010	[72]
Chucky Mullins	21	University of Mississippi	Defensive back	Spinal cord injury sustained during 1989 game vs. Vanderbilt	1991
Cornelius Murphy	21	Fordham	Tackle	Traumatic brain injury sustained during game vs. Bucknell	1931	[33]
Aaron O'Neal	19	Missouri	Linebacker	Exercise collapse associated with sickle cell trait	2005
Edgar Newschwander		Ripon	Tackle	Spinal cord injury sustained during game vs. Northwestern College (WI)	1900
James Nichols		University of Alabama	Center	Spinal injury	1931	[33]
Virgil Noland	21	Oregon	Guard	Burn injury	1911
Edison Ogrosky	20	Southwestern (KS)	Fullback	Internal injuries sustained during game vs. Bethany College (KS)	1924
Bryan Pata	22	University of Miami	Defensive lineman	Homicide	2006	[73] [74]
Ivan Perkins	21	New Mexico Normal		Traumatic brain injury sustained during practice	1937
D'Sean Perry	20	Virginia	Linebacker	Homicide	2022	[34]
Charles Persland		Pennsylvania Military College		Traumatic brain injury	1917
John Peters		Morningside		Internal injuries sustained during practice	1909
Lawrence Pierson		Lake Forest	Halfback	Spinal cord injury sustained during game vs. South Division High School	1900
Ereck Plancher	19	Central Florida	Wide receiver	Exercise collapse associated with sickle cell trait	2008	[20]
Polie Poitier	19	Colorado	Defensive back	Exercise collapse associated with sickle cell trait	1974
Alfred Primm, Jr.		Amherst	Halfback	Spinal cord injury sustained during practice	1926
Charles Prior		Lehigh	Quarterback	Spinal cord injury sustained during game vs. West Virginia Wesleyan	1925
Jack Reeves	23	Emporia State	Fullback	Spinal cord injury sustained during game vs. Washburn	1920
Paul Reyna	19	Boise State	Defensive Tackle	Traumatic brain injury sustained during scrimmage	1999	[75]
Paul Root		Eastern Illinois	Halfback	Traumatic brain injury sustained during game vs. Illinois State	1915
Joe Roth	21	University of California Berkeley	Quarterback	Melanoma	1977
Reed Ryan	22	University of Minnesota Duluth	Defensive lineman	Genetic heart condition	2023	[76]
Hugh Saussy	18	City College of New York	Guard	Traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injury sustained during game vs. Elizabeth Athletic Club	1893	[77]
Bryan Scott		Knox College		Spinal cord injury sustained during game vs. St. Louis University	1915
John Segrist	27	Ohio State	Center-rush	Spinal cord injury sustained during game vs. Western Reserve	1901	[78]
Andre Seldon Jr.	22	Utah State	Cornerback	Drowning	2024	[79]
Bertrand F. Serf	18	Doane	Quarterback	Traumatic brain injury sustained during game vs. Kansas	1896	[80]
Ron Settles	21	California State University, Long Beach (Long Beach State)	Running back	Found hanging in jail cell	1981
Frank Shanklin	21	Hanover College	End	Internal injuries sustained during practice	1903	[81]
Derek Sheely	22	Frostburg State	Fullback	Traumatic brain injury sustained during practice	2011
Richard Sheridan, Jr.	26	Army	End	Spinal cord injury sustained during game vs. Yale	1931	[33]
Ja'Quayvin Smalls	20	Western Carolina	Defensive back	Exercise collapse associated with sickle cell trait	2009
AJ Simon	25	Albany	Defensive end	Unknown	2024	[82]
C. D. Smith		Millsaps	Tackle	Spinal cord injury sustained during game vs. Stetson	1931	[33]
Wayne Souza	20	University of Wisconsin-Madison	Flanker	Drowned while swimming in Lake Monona	1979
Joe Spybuck	19	Haskell	Tackle	Traumatic brain injury sustained during practice game	1909
Bryce Stanfield	21	Furman	Defensive tackle	Sudden medical emergency during a football workout	2024	[83]
Freddie Joe Steinmark	22	University of Texas at Austin	Safety	Osteosarcoma	1971
Jamain Stephens	20	California (PA)	Defensive lineman	Blood clot in heart	2020	[84] [85]
Rodney Stowers	20	Mississippi State	Nose guard	Broken leg injury	1991	[86]
Owen Thomas	21	Pennsylvania	Offensive lineman	Suicide	2010	[87]
Jack Trice	21	Iowa State University	Tackle	Internal injuries sustained during game vs. Minnesota	1923
Frank Trimble		Indiana	Tackle	Blood poisoning	1909
Sione Veikoso	22	BYU	Offensive lineman	Construction accident	2022	[88]
Brian Alan Wagner	19	Emporia State	Linebacker	Homicide (Traumatic Brain Injury from physical assault)	1999
Joseph Walsh		St. Mary's College (KS)	Guard	Spinal cord injury sustained during practice	1909
George Watkinson	22	Yale	Halfback	"Over-exertion and exposure" sustained during game vs. Princeton	1886	[89]
Spencer Webb	22	Oregon	Tight end	Head injury from cliff diving	2022	[90]
Sam Westmoreland	18	Mississippi State	Offensive lineman	Suicide	2022	[91] [92]
Rashidi Wheeler	22	Northwestern	Safety	Exercise collapse associated with bronchial asthma	2001	[20]
Jordan Wiggins	18	Georgia Southern University	Offensive lineman	Suicide	2019	[93]
Chad Wiley	22	North Carolina A&T	Offensive lineman	Exercise collapse associated with sickle cell trait	2008
Devin Willock	21	Georgia	Offensive lineman	Car crash	2023	[94]
Earl Wilson		Navy	Quarterback	Spinal cord injury sustained during 1909 game vs. Villanova	1910
Ralph Wilson	18	Wabash	Halfback	Traumatic brain injury sustained during game vs. St. Louis University	1910
Willis Wilson	21	Hawaii	Running back	Drowned	2013	[95]
Khambrail Winters	20	Texas State	Defensive back	Homicide	2020	[96]
John Withnell		St. Louis University	Quarterback	Internal injuries sustained during practice	1903
Homer Wray		Gettysburg		Internal injuries sustained during a practice game	1913
Ted York	20	Yale	Guard	Pneumonia	1912

Team vehicle and plane crashes

• Purdue: 14 members of football team were killed in a railroad collision (1903).
• Northeastern Oklahoma A&M: 5 football players were killed in a head-on highway crash (1966).
• Marshall: 37 members died in an airplane crash (1970).
• Wichita State: most of the starting players and coaches, 31 in total, died in an airplane crash (1970).
• Cal Poly Mustangs football team: 16 players and 6 others died in an airplane crash (1960).
• Southwestern Oklahoma State: 4 football players were killed in a car crash (1996).

See also

• Sudden cardiac death of athletes
• List of National Football League players who died in wars

Notes

1. Davis was under contract when he died, though he did not play in a game due to his illness
2. Johnson was injured in a pre-season game, and did not play in a regular season game.

References

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12. Gajewski, Ryan (April 19, 2021). "USC Football Player Chris Brown Dead at 24". E! News. Retrieved June 13, 2021.
13. "Ex-USC lineman Chris Brown's death opened window into his life, Los Angeles Times, July 6, 2021.
14. Eric Woodyard (January 26, 2023). "Ex-Detroit Lions linebacker Jessie Lemonier dies at age 25". ESPN. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
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