The family of late NFL standout Aldon Smith is taking a major step to better understand the circumstances surrounding his sudden death, announcing that his brain will be donated to the Boston University CTE Center for examination. The move comes just days after the former San Francisco 49ers star died unexpectedly at age 36.
Attorneys representing Smith's family told ABC News that the decision is part of a broader effort to determine what happened to the former All-Pro pass rusher. The family has retained attorneys Harry Daniels, Bakari Sellers, and Wayne Kendall to investigate his death, which remains unexplained publicly. In a statement released on Tuesday, June 16, the legal team said, "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 added that one of the first steps in that process involves sending Smith's brain to Boston for testing. Medical experts will examine it for signs of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain disease associated with repeated head trauma. CTE has been linked to memory loss, depression, behavioral changes, and cognitive decline, but it can only be definitively diagnosed after death through a brain examination.
"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," the attorneys said. "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."
The development arrives just days after details emerged about Smith's final hours. According to friend Amir Shirazi, Smith spent part of that fateful Saturday delivering pizzas to a Bay Area charity that serves homeless residents. After the delivery, Shirazi said he found Smith unresponsive in the front passenger seat of his vehicle. Smith was transported to a hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
Drafted seventh overall by San Francisco in 2011, he immediately became one of the league's most dominant defenders. Smith recorded 14 sacks as a rookie and followed it with a franchise-record 19.5 sacks in 2012. His 33.5 sacks across his first two seasons remain the most ever recorded by an NFL player during that span.
But what appeared to be a Hall of Fame trajectory was repeatedly interrupted by legal troubles, substance-abuse issues, suspensions, and arrests. Smith eventually returned for one final NFL comeback with Dallas in 2020 before his playing career ended.
As tributes continue to pour in, former teammate Anthony Dixon offered an emotional remembrance on social media. "He was a creative mind, so smart, so fierce, so real, so powerful," Dixon wrote. "His presence, his passion and his aura meant a lot to me as a brother."
