Former Miami Hurricanes and Kansas City Chiefs standout Allen Bailey dies at 37

Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald on Oct 21, 2026

Published in Football

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

Allen Bailey, a former defensive standout with the Miami Hurricanes and a 10-year NFL veteran, has died.

Bailey’s death was first reported Tuesday by TMZ. Bailey’s brother, Alford Bailey Jr., told TMZ his family believes Bailey died of natural causes.

He was 37 years old.

Bailey signed with the Hurricanes in their 2007 recruiting class and spent four seasons with Miami. He amassed 107 total tackles, 31 tackles for loss and 19 sacks. Bailey was a first-team All-ACC pick in 2009 and a second-team pick in 2010.

The Kansas City Chiefs drafted Bailey in the third round, No. 86 overall, of the 2011 NFL draft. He spent eight seasons with the Chiefs from 2011-2018 before playing his final two seasons with the Atlanta Falcons from 2019-2020.

In 133 career games, he logged 248 tackles, 40 tackles for loss, 22 sacks, four forced fumbles, and seven fumble recoveries (one returned for a touchdown). He played in six playoff games across four seasons with the Chiefs.

“Our hearts go out to his family,” Chiefs head coach Andy Reid, who coached Bailey from 2013-2018, said Wednesday. “Prayers are with them. Way too young, obviously. One of my favorite players. Great kid. And just sorry to see that happen to him.”

The Chiefs on social media Wednesday called Bailey “an excellent teammate, generous man, and kind soul. We’re deeply saddened to hear of his passing, and our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends.”