Former NFL tight end Greg Olsen announced the death of his older brother, Chris, in a poignant social media post.
“It is with great sadness that I share this update. Despite fighting with every ounce of his being, my older brother Chris has lost his battle with Glioblastoma,” Greg, 40, shared via Instagram on Thursday, February 5. “This terrible disease took many things, but it could never take Chris’s spirit for life.”
Glioblastoma is an aggressive form of cancer that starts as a growth of cells in the brain or spinal cord.
“These past few weeks, people came from all over the country to Little Rock to share Chris stories,” Greg wrote. “We laughed. We cried. We remembered a larger than life personality who made everyone feel his love. More importantly, he was able to feel the love and impact he made on countless people over his 42 years.”
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He added, “Our family is devastated. Everyone could take a lesson on how to live life from Chris.”
Greg and Chris, who played quarterback at the University of Virginia, also share a younger brother, Kevin, 31, who played quarterback at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
Chris is survived by his wife, Lindsay.
“I ask that everyone says a prayer for his amazing wife Lindsay. She was his life,” Greg concluded his social media post. He was her ‘Lovie.’ On behalf of our entire family, we thank everyone for their continued prayers and love. We have felt it. Love you brother ❤️.”
Greg — who played 14 seasons in the NFL with the Chicago Bears, Carolina Panthers and Seattle Seahawks and now works as an analyst for Fox Sports — received condolences from the football community after announcing Chris’ death.
“Praying for you brother 🙏🏼❤️,” commented San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey, who played with Greg during their overlapping time with the Panthers.
Greg’s Fox Sports colleague Kevin Burkhardt wrote, “Prayers for the Olsens- love you all so much. Chris was always smiling, pure joy. He certainly will be remembered that way. ❤️”
Erin Andrews, who also works with Greg at Fox Sports, commented on the post, “Love the Olsen family and Chris so much. Here for you always.”
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Chris committed to Notre Dame before transferring to Virginia in 2003. After backing up Matt Schaub and Marques Hagans for three seasons, Chris was named the starting quarterback during his senior season in 2006.
“If you are willing to wait for four years to get your chance, I think that shows people how much you really love the game and how much you really want it,” Chris told VirginiaSports.com at the time. “I knew it would all work out in the end.”
Greg recalled how his father, Chris Olsen Sr., ingrained work ethic into him as his head coach at Wayne Hills High School in Wayne, New Jersey.
“My dad drew that distinction for us,” Chris said. “He was always harder on Greg and myself than he was on anybody else on the team. He did not want to make it look like he was trying to favor either one of us. We always had to be that much better than the guy in front of us. If we were even, he was going to play the other guy, so we had to be considerably better. We knew why he was harder on us, but sometimes it was tough. In the long run, it made us better as a team.”