Family of former 49er Aldon Smith to donate his brain to CTE research

Aldon Smith’s brain will be donated by his family to the Boston University CTE Center following his untimely death over the weekend.

The former NFL defensive lineman was 36 when he was found unresponsive in the passenger seat of a friend’s car following a day of delivering food to a homeless shelter.

No cause of death was given, but Smith’s family has hired attorneys Harry Daniels, Bakari Sellers and Wayne Kendall to investigate Smith’s death.

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San Francisco 49ers Aldon Smith runs during practice at the 49ers training facility in Santa Clara, on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2014. (LiPo Ching/MediaNews Group/Mercury News via Getty Images)

“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 Smith’s passing and we intend to get to the bottom of it,” the attorneys said in a statement released Tuesday. “To that end, we have taken a number of steps including sending his brain to Boston where medical experts will examine it for CTE as well as other damage caused by years of concussions and additional trauma.

“In the meantime we simply ask you to keep Aldon’s family in our prayers and respect their privacy as they struggle to come to grips with this terrible loss.”

Just hours before he was found unresponsive, Smith unexpectedly dropped off 10 pizzas at CHAM Deliverance Ministry, a San Jose, California, charity that feeds the homeless.

After dropping off the pizzas, his friend Amir Shirazi drove them to a grocery store and then back to his home. He told the San Francisco Chronicle that he quickly ran inside to turn on some lights, and when he returned to the car, Smith was slumped over in his seat.

“I came out and he was basically dead in my front seat,” Shirazi said. “I’m just in shock.”

San Francisco 49ers outside linebacker Aldon Smith (99) prior to a NFL game between the San Francisco 49ers and the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ The 49ers defeated the Giants 16-10 (Photo by Rich Kane/Icon Sportswire/Corbis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) ((Rich Kane/Icon Sportswire/Corbis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images))

FORMER NFL PASS RUSHER ALDON SMITH’S LAST ACT BEFORE HIS DEATH WAS DONATING FOOD FOR THE HOMELESS

Smith was drafted seventh overall in the 2011 NFL Draft out of Missouri and made an immediate impact as a rookie, picking up 14.0 sacks and forcing two fumbles in 16 games. The next year, he set a San Francisco 49ers‘ franchise record with 19.5 sacks and was named a first-team All-Pro while leading the team to Super Bowl XLVII.

Smith reached 30 career sacks in just 27 games, making him the fastest player in NFL history to do so, breaking a record previously held by Hall of Famer Reggie White.

In 2013, Smith voluntarily entered rehab and missed five games. In 2014, he served a nine-game suspension for violations of the NFL’s substance abuse and personal conduct policies.

The following year, the 49ers released Smith in August following his third DUI arrest before he was signed weeks later by the Oakland Raiders.

Smith remained indefinitely suspended from the NFL for four full seasons while dealing with legal and personal troubles. He returned in 2020 and played a full season with the Dallas Cowboys, starting all 16 games.

He signed with Seattle the next season but was arrested again on a battery charge and was released in training camp. He served a six-month jail sentence for DUI in 2023 and never played again in the NFL.

San Francisco 49ers Aldon Smith runs off the field after sacking St. Louis Rams quarterback A.J. Feeley on fourth down in the fourth quarter at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, California, on Dec. 4, 2011. (Nhat V. Meyer/MediaNews Group)

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Smith finished his career with 52.5 sacks in 75 games.

Outkick’s Mark Harris and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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