Aldon Smith, the former San Francisco 49ers and NFL All-Pro linebacker/pass rusher, has died at 36. The 49ers announced his passing Saturday night and did not disclose a cause of death.
SAN FRANCISCO — Aldon Smith’s name has been spoken for years in two different tones: one for the pressure he could unleash on quarterbacks. and another for the legal troubles that repeatedly interrupted his rise. On Saturday night. the San Francisco 49ers confirmed the two realities ended at the age of 36 with a sudden. tragic death.
The team said it did not disclose a cause of death. In a statement. the 49ers called his passing “sudden and tragic. ” adding. “Aldon’s undeniable talent and sheer dominance on the field were on display from the moment he joined our organization. ” and noting the way he lit up rooms with “an infectious smile.”.
Smith was drafted by the 49ers with the seventh overall pick out of Missouri in 2011, arriving with immediate impact. In his first three seasons, he helped San Francisco snap a playoff drought and reach the NFC title game, including one trip to the Super Bowl during that early stretch.
The production came fast. Smith recorded 14 sacks as a rookie and finished second to Von Miller in voting for the AP Defensive Rookie of the Year. In 2012, he set a franchise record with 19 1/2 sacks and was named a first-team All-Pro.
His first two seasons produced 33 1/2 sacks. the most in NFL history. and he continued into 2013 with 4 1/2 sacks in the first three games. Then the off-field issues began to close in. starting with an arrest for DUI and a stint in rehab for substance abuse that sidelined him for five games. He was also arrested on a weapons charge that season but returned to the field.
After his 2013 stint on the non-football injury list. Smith said. “I’m getting there.” He continued. “Every day’s just a step closer to getting to where I want to be I’ve gotten a lot of support. from my family. friends. organization. teammates and everything. And it really says a lot that people care about me outside the field and they care about me as a person.”.
In the playoffs that 2013 season, Smith had 3 1/2 sacks. The next year, he was suspended for the first nine games in 2014, and he never regained the level of performance he’d shown early on as suspensions and injuries kept stacking up.
San Francisco released him in August 2015 after another drunken driving charge—his fifth arrest in three years. He signed with Oakland just before the start of the 2015 season and produced 3 1/2 sacks in nine games before being suspended again.
When Smith moved on, the Raiders also marked his absence. “Aldon proudly wore the Silver and Black, was respected by his teammates and will be missed dearly,” the team said.
Smith applied for reinstatement to the NFL in 2016 but was not allowed back initially. Oakland released him in 2018 following a domestic violence arrest, and a plea agreement was reached in that case. He later was reinstated in 2020 and played 16 games for Dallas, finishing with five sacks.
The final attempts to re-establish a lasting NFL role came in Seattle. Smith signed with the Seahawks for the next season, but after an arrest for battery he was released in training camp. In 2023, he served a six-month jail sentence for DUI and never played again in the NFL.
Across 75 games, Smith finished with 52 1/2 sacks.
In college, he was a first-team All-Big 12 selection and earned Missouri’s Defensive Lineman of the Year Award in 2010.
The length of the career always sat uneasily beside the flash of his early numbers. and Saturday’s announcement made that contrast impossible to ignore. For the 49ers. his legacy will return to the field—rookie dominance. franchise-record production. and a run that helped reshape a defense—while the rest of his story remains tied to interruptions that came too often. too soon. and never really stopped.
Aldon Smith San Francisco 49ers NFL pass rusher death at 36 AP Defensive Rookie of the Year All-Pro Missouri Raiders Cowboys Seahawks