The death of the NFL legend and civil rights activist, his wife, Monique, announced Thursday, at the age of 87.
Brown, who was an NFL player from 1957 to 1965 with the Cleveland Browns, was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1971 after a career that saw him rush for 12,312 yards, a record that stood until broken by Walter Payton in 1984. .
Brown also made nine Pro Bowls and was an eight-time All-Pro at the time of his retirement, and also led the Browns to an NFL title in 1964, one of the last before the Super Bowl era began in 1967.
Among the current and former NFL stars honoring Brown in the wake of his death is recently retired defensive lineman JJ Watt, who will likely join the Browns in the Hall of Fame later in the decade.
“An absolute legend” Watt wrote on Twitter-Add a prayer emoji. “Rest in peace Jim Brown.”
Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Arsay referred to as Brown as “The Greatest Ever” on his Twitter account.
Former Super Bowl-winning cornerback Jason McCourty, who played for the Browns in 2017, notes that he saw the Browns during his time in Cleveland.
“It was great to see him in the hallways and have conversations with him during my season in Cleveland!” McCourty Books. “A leader and a difference maker on and off the field!”
Hall of Fame running back Tony Dorsett, who became only second ever to pass the previous Browns’ mark after Payton — he retired in 1988 after 12,739 rushing yards, four Pro Bowls and a Super Bowl — shared his view on the NFL legend.
“There is no man who has played running back in the NFL who has not seen Jim Brown as an iconic legend on and off the field,” he tweeted. “Rest, brother.”
Brown’s death has also reached far beyond the NFL, fittingly for a civil rights activist and bona fide Hollywood actor.
Longtime New York sports radio host Mike Frances Jim Brown called “The greatest player ever to step onto an NFL field.”
Rapper Flavor Flav of the revolutionary hip-hop group Public Enemy called Brown his nickname “Mentor and heroWhen you receive the news.
Brown’s death was announced by his wife, Monique, in an Instagram post Friday afternoon.
“To the world he was an activist, actor and soccer star,” she wrote. “To our family he was a loving and wonderful husband, father and grandfather. Our hearts are broken.”
