Chris Payton-Jones, a former NFL player, died in a car crash in Florida on April 11 at the age of 30. He played for five NFL teams and later in the XFL and UFL before retiring in January 2026.
Chris Payton-Jones
Credit: Fox Sports/UFL/Getty
Chris Payton-Jones, a former NFL and UFL player who is being remembered as a “bright soul” and “beloved teammate,” died in a Florida car crash on Saturday, April 11.
The athlete was traveling east in a westbound lane in Alachua County, Fla., Saturday night when his vehicle was hit head-on by another vehicle going in the opposite direction, Florida Highway Patrol told WCJB. Payton-Jones’ vehicle burst into flames, while the other vehicle flipped. Payton-Jones was pronounced dead at the scene.
PEOPLE reached out to the Florida Highway Patrol for comment.
Chris Payton-Jones
Credit: Wes Hale/UFL/Getty
“Chris was a beloved teammate and leader in the locker room, who demonstrated the importance of hard work, determination, and resilience throughout his career,” the UFL said in a Sunday, April 12 statement on X. “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.”
Payton-Jones was born in Jacksonville, Fla., where he excelled at Sandalwood High School as a cornerback. After graduating in 2014, he played college football at the University of Nebraska.
In 2018, he signed as an undrafted free agent with the Detroit Lions. He had stops with the Arizona Cardinals, Minnesota Vikings, Tennessee Titans and Las Vegas Raiders, and played in 29 NFL games. In 2023, he played for the XFL’s Seattle SeaDragons and joined the UFL's St. Louis Battlehawks in 2024. He retired from professional football in January 2026.
Aside from his pro football career, Payton-Jones also established himself as a mentor and content creator in Jacksonville. He built his own sports media brand, Flashflix, which has over 1.3 million views since launching in 2024.
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“He was one of my all-time favorites! The kid never missed a workout, never missed practice, and never wanted to come off the field. Everyone loved him,” Adam Geis, Payton-Jones’ high school football coach, told News 4 Jax.
“He was always unbelievably positive,” Geis said of Payton-Jones. “I’ve never heard that kid ever say anything negative about anyone or anything. … It was always a pleasure to be around him. You were always happy to see him.”
Pat Clark, an associate head coach at Central State University who also coached Payton-Jones in high school, told the local news station that the late athlete was “the hardest working human being I’ve ever been around, a great player but even better person.”
Read the original article on People
Chris Payton-Jones died in a car crash in Florida.
Chris Payton-Jones played for five different NFL teams during his career.
After the NFL, Chris Payton-Jones played in the XFL and UFL.
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