Jerome Brown

Eagles defensive tackle, two-time Pro Bowler, and Miami Hurricane legend.

Willie Jerome Brown III (February 4, 1965 – June 25, 1992) was an American professional football defensive tackle who played for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played his entire five-year NFL career with the Eagles from 1987 to 1991, before his death just before the 1992 season. He was selected to two Pro Bowls in 1990 and 1991. He played college football for the Miami Hurricanes.

Quick Facts

Position: Defensive tackle
Born: 4 February 1965
Birthplace: Brooksville, Florida, U.S.
Died: 25 June 1992
High school: Hernando (Brooksville)
College: Miami (FL)
Draft year: 1987
Draft round: 1

Lore & Background

Brown graduated from Hernando High School in Brooksville, Florida. In June 1988, he received praise for his calm demeanor as he helped disperse a group of Ku Klux Klan protesters in Brooksville, Florida. Five days before the 1987 Fiesta Bowl, at a promotional dinner with the Penn State team, Brown led a walkout by the Miami players, asking: 'Did the Japanese go and sit down and have dinner with Pearl Harbor before they bombed them?' Days earlier, Brown and fellow Miami player Dan Sileo drew national controversy when each were seen deplaning a chartered University of Miami plane at Phoenix's Sky Harbor International Airport, wearing Battle Dress Uniforms.

Brown died on June 25, 1992, at age 27, following an automobile accident in Brooksville, Florida, in which both he and his 12-year-old nephew were killed when Brown lost control of his ZR1 Chevrolet Corvette at high speed and crashed into a palm tree. In 2000, the Jerome Brown Community Center was opened in Brooksville in memory of Brown.

Reader's Guide

Brown was drafted in the first round (ninth overall) of the 1987 NFL draft by the Philadelphia Eagles. He was one of the Eagles' four holdouts that offseason, but signed a four-year contract less than a month before the season began. During his rookie season, he suffered elbow chips requiring off-season surgery, finishing with four sacks, two interceptions, and one fumble recovered. The Eagles re-signed Brown to a three-year contract in 1990, one day after re-signing Seth Joyner and Clyde Simmons.

He was twice selected to the Pro Bowl (1990 and 1991). Brown's jersey number (#99) was retired by the Eagles on September 6, 1992, in an emotional pre-game ceremony at Veterans Stadium, prior to the Eagles' first game of the 1992 season. After his death, Eagles players and fans started the unofficial motto 'Bring it home for Jerome.' The Eagles would win Super Bowl LII on February 4, 2018, which would have been Brown's 53rd birthday.

Did You Know?

Brown's son Dee Brown (born 1982) was drafted in the 10th round of the 2005 MLB draft by the Washington Nationals and played minor league baseball.
Brown and former teammate Reggie White were documented together in an episode of the NFL Network series A Football Life that aired in 2011.