Former NFL tight end Don Hasselbeck dies of a heart attack at age 70
Original Publication Date: April 15, 2025 11:16AM
Former NFL tight end Don Hasselbeck, who won a Super Bowl in his nine-year career and was the father of two NFL quarterbacks, died Monday. He was 70.
Hasselbeck’s son, Matt, said his father died after going into cardiac arrest at his home.
“He was a great husband, father, grandfather, friend, coach, player, coworker, artist, mentor, and storyteller,” Matt Hasselbeck wrote on social media. “Despite being an All-American at Colorado and a Super Bowl Champion with the Raiders, what we are most proud of is the leader he was for our family.”
The elder Hasselbeck was drafted in the second round by New England in 1977 after a standout collegiate career at Colorado. He spent six full seasons with the Patriots and led the team in catches in 1981 with 46, to go along with 808 yards receiving and six TDs.
He was traded to the Los Angeles Raiders early in the 1983 season and helped the team win the Super Bowl. He had two TD catches in the regular season for the Raiders and the 6-foot-7 Hasselbeck blocked an extra point in a 38-9 win in the Super Bowl against Washington.
Hasselbeck then spent the following season with the New York Giants and had a TD catch in a playoff win over San Francisco and finished his career with Minnesota in 1985.
Hasselbeck had 107 catches for 1,542 yards and 18 touchdowns in 123 career regular season games.
Two of Hasselbeck’s sons went on to play quarterback in the NFL, with Matt making three Pro Bowls and starting in a Super Bowl for Seattle following the 2005 season and Tim playing mostly as a backup.
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