O.J. Brigance, a former NFL linebacker who won a Super Bowl with the Baltimore Ravens, died on Monday after a near 20-year battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
He was 56.
“With profound sadness, we mourn the passing of our beloved O.J. Brigance following his extraordinary and heroic battle with ALS,” the team announced.
With profound sadness, we mourn the passing of our beloved O.J. Brigance following his extraordinary and heroic battle with ALS. pic.twitter.com/5aegvRX2Fy
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) August 17, 2026
“We are devastated by the awful news that we have lost O.J. Brigance,” Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti said in a statement.
“O.J. was a beloved legend, mentor and man to everyone who was fortunate enough to know him. He was a vibrant person who became one of the first Ravens heroes with his passionate play, including the first tackle of Super Bowl 2001,” he continued.
ESPN shared further:
Diagnosed with ALS in 2007 at the age of 37, Brigance was told he had two to five years to live. But Brigance seemed undeterred, constantly smiling whether he was moving through the hallways of the team facility in a motorized wheelchair or attending games and practices.
ADVERTISEMENTFormer Ravens coach John Harbaugh often referred to Brigance as “the strongest man in the organization.”
When former middle linebacker Ray Lewis was handed the Lamar Hunt Trophy for winning the AFC championship in January 2013, he looked at Brigance and told him, “You’re my greatest motivation.”
When former safety Ed Reed delivered his Hall of Fame speech in 2019, he gave a shoutout to Brigance, saying, “You’re the reason why I’m here, man. You’re the reason I became a great professional.”
“O.J. inspired us with humility, faithfulness, determination, competitiveness and love for humankind,” Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta said. “We never once saw O.J. angry or frustrated by his disease. Instead, we all witnessed a hero who influenced so many people through his unwavering optimism and grit. O.J. Brigance is the definition of what it means to live like a Raven.”
Brigance’s journey to the NFL went through the Canadian Football League (CFL), where he played for the Baltimore Stallions.
He won the Grey Cup with the Stallions in 1995, during the league’s brief American expansion.
Watch below:
No one embodied what it means to be a Raven quite like O.J. Brigance. pic.twitter.com/T57eA5txSY
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) August 17, 2026
More from the New York Post:
Brigance’s NFL star rose to prominence with the Dolphins, who signed him as a free agent out of Rice University in 1996. A two-time captain, he won the Ed Block Courage Award and the NFLPA’s Unsung Hero Award in 1999.
He then came to Baltimore — where he’d won a Grey Cup with the CFL’s Stallions in 1995 — for his lone season with the Ravens and played a key role in their march to the Super Bowl title, making a team-leading 10 special teams tackles against the Giants.
ADVERTISEMENTHe is the only player to win both a Grey Cup and Super Bowl in the same city.
Brigance went on to play two seasons for the Rams before finishing his career with the Patriots in 2002.
In 2004, he joined the Ravens’ front office as a senior adviser for player engagement, a job he continued from a wheelchair with a communication device after he was diagnosed with ALS in 2007.
