Beloved Teammate: Former NFL Player Chris Payton-Jones Dies At 30
A former NFL cornerback and sports videographer, Chris Payton-Jones, died Saturday in a car accident. He was 30.
Misryoum newsroom reported that Payton-Jones was traveling eastbound in the westbound lanes of Florida’s State Road 24 when his car collided with a pick-up truck. His vehicle was reportedly engulfed in flames, and he was pronounced dead on the scene.
Payton-Jones’ path to professional football started in college at the University of Nebraska, where he played. After that, he went on to play for multiple NFL teams, including the Arizona Cardinals, Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings and Tennessee Titans. Most recently, Misryoum newsroom reported, he played for the St. Louis Battlehawks in the United Football League before retiring from the sport this past January.
There’s a different side to his resume too—one that showed up off the field as much as on it. The Jacksonville native was also known for his videography, building a YouTube channel called Flashflix that focused on sports content. He described his videos as “bringing the cinematic vibes to YouTube,” and Misryoum newsroom reported his efforts garnered more than 1.3 million views. It’s the kind of niche that sounds small until you see the numbers, and then you realize he was building something steady, not just posting.
He was also known for mentoring younger videographers. In a statement, the UFL said, “Chris was a beloved teammate and leader in the locker room, who demonstrated the importance of hard work, determination, and resilience throughout his career.” It added, “As importantly, Chris was always a bright soul who everyone throughout the league enjoyed spending time with off-the-field during his three-year tenure.”
Misryoum editorial desk noted that James Coleman, a former fullback at Florida State, offered a personal account of Payton-Jones. “I’ve trained him and worked with him,” Coleman told News4JAX. “I’ve never been around a more genuine guy who has a big heart for kids in this community. Just a positive role model in action, not choice.”
For people who knew him, the loss isn’t just about a former player gone too soon. It’s also about the momentum he had outside the game—stories he was producing, younger creators he was helping, and the sense that he was always doing one more thing for someone else. And now, it’s hard to even picture it continuing the way it was—without that familiar presence, or maybe with it only as memory. The news comes with a heavy quiet, like the kind that follows when you hear about a crash and can almost smell smoke, even from a distance.
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