In brief
His wife found him dead at their Florida home on Tuesday, 20 October. Family sources told TMZ Sports they believe he died of natural causes, and no official cause has been released.
Drafted by the Chiefs in the third round in 2011, Bailey was signed to a four-year extension in 2014 and posted a career-high six sacks in 2018 before two seasons with the Atlanta Falcons in 2019 and 2020.
Head coach Andy Reid called Bailey one of his favorite players at a news conference on Wednesday, 21 October, and Patrick Mahomes said the team is praying for his family.
- 2018Career-high six sacks in his final Chiefs season
- 2019 to 2020Final two seasons with the Atlanta Falcons
- 20 OctHis wife finds him dead at his home in Florida
Death reported by family and team
Former Kansas City Chiefs defensive end Allen Bailey has died at the age of 37. His wife found him dead at their home in Florida on Tuesday, 20 October, and the Chiefs announced the death. Family sources told TMZ Sports they believe he died of natural causes, and no official explanation has been released. Bailey was born on 25 March 1989 on Sapelo Island, Georgia, a island with fewer than 70 residents that can only be reached by boat.
Career with the Chiefs and Falcons
The Chiefs took Bailey in the third round of the 2011 NFL Draft after a college career at the University of Miami, where he earned first-team All-ACC honors in 2009 and second-team honors in 2010. He spent eight seasons in Kansas City. In 2014, while he was in the middle of a five-sack season, the club signed him to a four-year extension. His career-high six sacks came in 2018, his final year with the Chiefs, and he then played for the Atlanta Falcons in 2019 and 2020. Across 133 games he recorded 248 tackles and 22 sacks. Dwayne Bowe, who played four seasons alongside him in Kansas City, wrote that Bailey was one of the best teammates he had met.
Reaction from Reid and Mahomes
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid, who has led the team since 2013 and is 68, spoke at a news conference on Wednesday, 21 October. Reid said the death makes him sick when it happens to someone so young, and he noted that Bailey's father had also died young. He also described Bailey as one of his favorite players.
“He was one of my favorite players, a great kid.”
Patrick Mahomes, drafted by the Chiefs in 2017 and a teammate of Bailey for two seasons, said he tells the story of their first meeting every year and called it surreal. He described Bailey as a dependable teammate who was not necessarily a superstar but made everything work.
“He was the first person I saw when I stepped into the locker room after the draft.”
Mahomes said he and his teammates will do whatever they can to support Bailey's family.
- Games played
- 133
- Tackles
- 248
- Sacks
- 22
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