Allen Bailey, the defensive end who played 10 NFL seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs and Atlanta Falcons, has died at the age of 37. His brother, Alford Bailey Jr., told TMZ that he was found dead at his home in Florida on Tuesday, October 20, 2026. No official cause of death has been released.
Eight seasons in Kansas City
Bailey grew up on Sapelo Island, a small community off the coast of Georgia, and starred for the Miami Hurricanes in college. The Chiefs selected him in the third round of the 2011 NFL Draft, 86th overall.
In eight seasons in Kansas City he started 61 of his 102 games, with 207 tackles and 19.5 sacks. His best years came in 2014 and 2018. In 2018, his final season with the Chiefs, he had a career-high six sacks and scored his only touchdown, returning a fumble in Kansas City’s 54-51 loss to the Los Angeles Rams.
He signed with the Atlanta Falcons as a free agent in 2019 and played 31 games over two seasons before being released in February 2021. Over his career he played 133 regular-season games and recorded 22 sacks.
“One of my favorite players”
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid, who coached Bailey for six seasons, called him “one of my favorite players” at his weekly news conference. “It’s terrible,” Reid said, noting that Bailey’s father had also died young. The Chiefs said Bailey was “an excellent teammate, generous man, and kind soul”.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes recalled walking into the locker room as a rookie and seeing Bailey’s imposing frame: “I’m like, ‘This isn’t the Big 12 anymore.'” He called Bailey “one of those glue guys on the team”.
Away from football, Bailey founded the Allen Bailey Foundation, a nonprofit that supports student-athletes and their families in Georgia.