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Former Las Vegas Raiders first-round draft pick D.J. Hayden tragically passed away along with five other people, including one woman, in a car accident in the early hours of Saturday.
Per the Houston Chronicle, a Chrysler 300 ran a red light and crashed into a moving SUV, causing a fatal collision that claimed the lives of four people on the accident spot, including a homeless man. Four others injured in the collision were taken to the hospital and two have since succumbed to their injuries. One survivor has spoken to the police about the tragic incident. It remains unclear how many passengers were in the two cars that crashed.
Houston Chronicle's Joseph Duarte confirmed that two of the six people who were tragically killed were Hayden and Zach McMillan, a former football player.
D.J. Hayden's more precise cause of death remains unclear, however, it appears he succumbed to the injuries that he suffered in the crash in Houston on Saturday. Philadelphia Eagles star Darius Slay was among the first NFL players to react to the news of Hayden's death, writing:
"Rest easy DJ .. prayers for your family and especially to your baby girls"
Exploring D.J. Hayden's career earnings and net worth
After two spectacular seasons with the Houston Cougars in 2011 and 2012, the Las Vegas Raiders (then the Oakland Raiders) spent the 12th overall pick in the 2013 NFL Draft to land Hayden. He signed a fully guaranteed four-year, $10.3 million rookie deal with the Raiders.
Hayden started 25 games for the Raiders in four seasons, recording three interceptions and one sack before being released by the franchise. He signed a one-year, $3.7 million deal with the Detroit Lions in 2017 and made his mark, despite starting only one game.
Hayden landed a 3-year, $19 million deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2018 offseason, the largest contract of his career. He played 30 games in three seasons with the Jaguars before being released by the team at the end of the 2020 NFL season. He spent one year on the Washington Commanders' practice squad and earned just a shade over $1 million during his time in the capital. The former first-round pick had been inactive in the NFL following his release from the Commanders.
Over the course of his eight-year NFL career, D.J. Hayden earned $33.3 million.
