Former San Francisco 49ers linebacker Aldon Smith died at age 36 on Saturday, June 13, 2026, after being found unresponsive in a friend’s vehicle in Los Gatos, California, less than an hour before being pronounced dead at Good Samaritan Hospital in San Jose.
Smith was discovered slumped over with his mouth open in the passenger seat of his friend Amir Shirazi’s Chevy pickup truck on Saturday morning. Shirazi initially thought Smith was asleep but noticed his body was slightly twitching. He immediately called 911, but Smith could not be saved. The Santa Clara County chief medical examiner has not yet determined the cause of death, with autopsy results still pending.
“He was perfectly fine an hour before,” Shirazi told the San Francisco Chronicle. “I came out and he was basically dead in my front seat.”
Earlier that morning, Smith and Shirazi had been delivering pizzas to a homeless charity, Community Homeless Alliance Ministry. Scott Wagers, the charity’s founder, told the Chronicle that Smith appeared lethargic after getting out of Shirazi’s car, though the pizza delivery proceeded as planned. After completing the charitable work, Shirazi drove Smith back to his home in Los Gatos. Shirazi went inside briefly to turn on some lights, and when he returned to the vehicle, he found his friend unresponsive.
Smith was wearing a Willis Reed Knicks jersey and had planned to watch the New York Knicks play in the NBA Finals later that evening. According to Shirazi, Smith had been struggling financially in early 2026 and had been staying with friends while waiting for his NFL pension to begin, which according to league rules does not start until a player reaches age 55. Smith was only 36.
Despite Smith’s well-documented history of substance abuse issues, Shirazi told reporters he had not seen Smith use drugs on the day of his death and said Smith only smoked marijuana occasionally through the years. According to Shirazi, the death likely resulted from natural causes, though he acknowledged uncertainty about what actually occurred.
Just two days before his death, on Thursday, June 11, 2026, Smith had visited the 49ers’ facility to speak with the team’s rookies as part of an alumni mentoring program. The appearance suggested Smith was attempting to rebuild his life and give back to the organization where he experienced his greatest professional success.
The San Francisco 49ers released a statement expressing devastation over Smith’s passing. The organization said Smith would always be remembered for the way his bright, contagious smile brought joy and energy to any space he entered, and sent their heartfelt sympathies to Smith’s family and everyone whose life he touched.
Rise and Fall of a Dominant Pass Rusher
Smith’s NFL career began with extraordinary promise. Drafted by the 49ers as the seventh overall selection in the 2011 NFL Draft out of the University of Missouri, Smith recorded 14.0 sacks as a rookie in 2011, a team high and a first-year performance surpassed by only one other rookie since the NFL began officially tracking sacks in 1982. He finished as runner-up to Denver Broncos linebacker Von Miller for the Associated Press NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year award.
Smith’s second season in 2012 was even more dominant. He recorded 19.5 sacks, still the most in a single season in 49ers franchise history, earning First-Team Associated Press All-Pro honors. His 33.5 sacks through his first two seasons remain the most by any player in their first two NFL seasons. He was selected to the 2013 Pro Bowl, cementing his status as one of the league’s premier pass rushers.
During his four seasons with San Francisco, Smith appeared in 50 games with 30 starts, registering 152 tackles, 44.0 sacks, five passes defensed, five forced fumbles, one interception, and one fumble recovery. In eight postseason contests, including six starts, he recorded 20 tackles, 5.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries.
However, substance abuse issues and multiple arrests derailed what appeared to be a Hall of Fame trajectory. Smith missed nine games in 2014 after the NFL suspended him for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. The 49ers released him in 2015 following multiple DUI arrests. The Oakland Raiders signed Smith, and he suited up for nine games in 2015 before that team also released him.
Due to several suspensions and continued legal troubles, Smith did not play another NFL game for nearly five years. He would not see the field again until 2020, when the Dallas Cowboys gave him another opportunity. Smith started all 16 games that season, demonstrating flashes of his former dominance, but it would be his final year in the league. He was 30 years old when he last played in the NFL and had been out of professional football for six years at the time of his death.
Over his entire six-season NFL career, Smith appeared in 75 regular season games and recorded 52.5 sacks, 228 total tackles, 56 tackles for loss, 103 quarterback hits, five forced fumbles, and one interception.
Recent Struggles and Final Days
Born Aldon Jacarus Smith on September 25, 1989, he played two seasons at the University of Missouri before declaring for the NFL Draft. At Missouri, he was a First-Team All-Big 12 selection and received the Defensive Lineman of the Year Award in 2010.
In an interview published in the days before his death, Smith acknowledged he was going through difficult times. When asked to elaborate on recent struggles, Smith responded that he was dealing with something he had struggled with his whole life and was having trouble accepting how it was playing out. Despite his challenges, he expressed gratitude for where he was in life.
Shirazi described his late friend as a caring person whose true character was known to those close to him. Wagers, who met Smith for the first time on the morning of his death during the charitable pizza delivery, described him as gracious and humble.
The Santa Clara County Office of the Medical Examiner-Coroner confirmed that Smith was declared dead on Saturday, June 13, 2026, and that an autopsy was performed. The office stated that the cause and manner of death are pending completion of the investigation, and no further information is available at this time.
