Former San Francisco 49ers star Aldon Smith spoke of how he had become a better person just two years before his tragic death, which was confirmed by the team on Saturday
14:00 ET, 14 Jun 2026
San Francisco 49ers defensive end Aldon Smith speaks with the media during a media availability session for Super Bowl XLVII at the New Orleans Marriot on January 28, 2013 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
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Aldon Smith spoke of becoming a better person following his off-field struggles during his NFL career(Image: Getty Images)
Aldon Smith spoke of being excited to show the world just how much he had grown as a person just two years before his tragic death.
On Saturday, the San Francisco 49ers announced the passing of Smith, whom they drafted seventh overall in the 2011 NFL Draft, at the age of just 36. The former Missouri pass rusher immediately shone on the field for the 49ers, recording 14 sacks to finish during his rookie season.
The following year, he was named an All-Pro after recording 19.5 sacks on a 49ers team that narrowly lost Super Bowl XLVII to the Baltimore Ravens. However, following the 2012 season, off-field issues began to impact Smith's career.
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In 2013, he was involved in a single-vehicle accident and was later arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and possession of marijuana. He entered rehab and missed five games for the 49ers.
The following season, he was handed a nine-game suspension for violating the NFL's substance abuse and personal conduct policies, resulting in his being reinstated in Week 11. Then, in August 2015, the 49ers released Smith following his third DUI.
He ended up signing with the Oakland (now Las Vegas) Raiders, where he played the majority of the 2015 season. However, the August DUI led to him receiving a one-year suspension from the NFL following Week 10 of the 2015 season.
While he re-signed with the Raiders in April 2016, his reinstatement by the NFL was rejected, leading to him missing two full years of football. He was eventually released by the Raiders in 2018 following a domestic violence arrest, a case in which a plea agreement was reached.
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Smith would not play football again until 2020, when he played 16 games for the Dallas Cowboys. However, the following season, he was arrested again for battery after signing with the Seattle Seahawks. He also served six months in jail for another DUI in 2023. Following his release, he said he was "done with ball" in an interview with the 'I Am Athlete' podcast.
Since walking away from football, Smith looked to have found himself. While the former 49ers star did not shy away from the struggles and issues that plagued his playing career, he admitted in an interview back in 2024 with NBC Sports Bay Area that he entered the NFL lost, and that he had spent the last three years prior to that working on himself in the hopes of becoming a better person.
"I was good at playing football, but I wasn't a good football player," Smith said. "Being a football player is, in my opinion, a responsibility and something that you need some discipline and direction and help and guidance. There’s a lot that goes into it.
"There were things off the field that I needed to work on, just being a young man and wandering in my way about life.
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"When you guys met me as a 20-year-old, I probably had the worst self-esteem, the worst relationship with myself. And to everybody else, they probably wonder how could that be when I was so successful on the field. But I didn't see myself how everybody else saw me. And so I struggled with a lot of things."
Smith continued: "Through my struggles with drinking and all of the different things that I went through. I was able to develop that relationship along the way by all of the times that I was away from ball and went to a treatment center or a therapist. It gave me a chance to really work and develop on who I am.
"I’m so excited to be able to share that because you’ve seen the different stages, and I’m so blessed to be able to have this opportunity to talk about how it felt looking at life through the lens one way and now having a completely different perspective on life and what that shift can do."