Former USC and NFL linebacker Keith Browner died Tuesday morning in San Leandro, the Alameda County Sheriff's Office confirmed Wednesday. He was 63.
Keith Browner Jr. told TMZ that he spoke with his father on Monday evening while the elder Browning was having stomach problems, vomiting and feeling tired. Browner Jr. said his father told him he would go to the hospital the next morning.
According to TMZ, Browner was preparing to go to the hospital Tuesday morning “when he curled up in a chair and collapsed on the floor next to his girlfriend.” TMZ also reported that it “appears” Browner suffered a heart attack and that his death was “unexpected and sudden.”
Alameda County authorities did not release a cause of death Wednesday.
Browner was born in Warren, Ohio, the fifth of six brothers, all of whom played college football and four of whom went on to play in the NFL. Selected in the second round (30th overall) by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1984, Browner also played for the San Francisco 49ers, Los Angeles Raiders and San Diego Chargers during a five-year NFL career.
Older brother Ross Browner spent 10 years in the NFL, playing for the Cincinnati Bengals and Green Bay Packers. Jimmy Browner Jr. played two years for the Bengals. Joey Browner was a six-time Pro Bowl player who played nine seasons with the Minnesota Vikings and one with the Buccaneers.
Browner Jr. followed in his father's footsteps and became a professional football player. Outstanding Defensive Player at Dorsey HighBrowner Jr. played three seasons at UC and one season with the Houston Texans.
Nephew, Ross Browner's son Max Starks, played nine years for the Pittsburgh Steelers and one year for the St. Louis Rams.
Browner, who was 14 when his father Jimmy died of cancer at 49, said his mother Julia was the driving force behind her sons' passion for sports.
“She always encouraged us to play,” he told the Dayton Daily News in 2023, “and sometimes she was next to us in the yard when we had pickup games.”
A three-sport standout at Warren Harding High, Browner played four seasons at USC (1980-83), crossing paths with brother Joey the first three seasons. He was named captain his final season and finished his college career with six interceptions in 34 games played.
Browner made the NFL's All-Rookie Team in 1984. After three years with the Buccaneers, he split the 1987 season between the 49ers and Raiders before playing his final season in the NFL. with chargers.
He finished his NFL career with 10.5 sacks, four interceptions (including one 55-yard return for the Chargers against the Seattle Seahawks in 1988) and five fumble recoveries, then played two seasons in the Canadian Football League and six in the Arena Football League.
Browner is survived by a son and four daughters.
