{"id":461837,"date":"2026-02-06T07:49:07","date_gmt":"2026-02-06T07:49:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/461837\/"},"modified":"2026-02-06T07:49:07","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T07:49:07","slug":"former-nfl-star-greg-olsen-shares-heartbreaking-family-update-our-family-is-devastated","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/461837\/","title":{"rendered":"Former NFL Star Greg Olsen Shares Heartbreaking Family Update: &#8216;Our Family Is Devastated&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Condolences are pouring in for former NFL tight end <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/gregolsen88\/?hl=en\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Greg Olsen;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Greg Olsen<\/a>, 40. The athlete-turned-television analyst shared a heartbreaking update on Thursday following his brother Chris Olsen\u2019s battle with glioblastoma.<\/p>\n<p>In a post shared to social media, the beloved athlete, who played 14 seasons in the NFL before becoming a lead <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxsports.com\/personalities\/greg-olsen\/bio\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:NFL analyst for Fox Sports;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">NFL analyst for Fox Sports<\/a>, wrote:<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt 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. This terrible disease took many things, but it could never take Chris\u2019s spirit for life.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He continued: \u201cOur family is devastated. Everyone could take a lesson on how to live life from Chris.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Chris Olsen was 42 years old.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/articles\/matthew-stafford-steals-show-cutest-021645204.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:Related: Matthew Stafford Steals the Show With the Cutest Dates at the 2026 NFL Honors;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Related: Matthew Stafford Steals the Show With the Cutest Dates at the 2026 NFL Honors<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Condolences Pour In for Greg Olsen and His Family<\/p>\n<p>Friends, fans, and sports stars were quick to offer support and condolences for the former NFL star. San Francisco 49ers running back and 2026 NFL Comeback Player of the Year award winner <a href=\"https:\/\/parade.com\/celebrities\/christian-mccaffrey-net-worth\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Christian McCaffrey;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Christian McCaffrey<\/a> commented, \u201cPraying for you brother \ud83d\ude4f\ud83c\udffc\u2764\ufe0f.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p>Fellow Fox Sports NFL commentator Erin Andrews shared, \u201cLove the Olsen family and Chris so much. Here for you always.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Former Los Angeles Rams left tackle and member of Amazon\u2019s Thursday Night Football crew <a href=\"https:\/\/www.therams.com\/news\/andrew-whitworth-joining-thursday-night-football-crew#:~:text=Jul%2021%2C%202022%20at%2009,Michaels%20and%20analyst%20Kirk%20Herbstreit.\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Andrew Whitworth;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Andrew Whitworth<\/a> wrote, \u201cSorry for you and your family\u2019s loss! \ud83d\ude4f\ud83c\udffc\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLove you Greg,\u201d offered San Francisco 49ers tight end <a href=\"https:\/\/parade.com\/celebrities\/george-kittle-wife-claire-kittle\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:George Kittle;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">George Kittle<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>A friend of the family added, \u201cPrayers for the Olsens\u2014love you all so much. Chris was always smiling, pure joy. He certainly will be remembered that way.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Greg Olsen\u2019s family has been deeply impacted by heart disease and cancer. The three-time Pro Bowler\u2019s older brother Kevin Olsen passed away in 2018 at the age of 29 due to complications related to a heart condition. His brother Chris was born with congenital heart disease and underwent a heart transplant as a child.<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p>The impact on his family inspired Greg and his loved ones to launch the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wcnc.com\/video\/sports\/nfl\/panthers\/greg-olsen-speaks-ahead-of-heartest-yard-ungala-at-steak-48\/275-c35daf8a-11f2-47d1-902c-ebd2dce6adce\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:HEARTest Yard Foundation;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">HEARTest Yard Foundation<\/a>, which supports families of children with congenital heart disease and raises awareness about heart health.<\/p>\n<p>Despite Chris Olsen\u2019s childhood battle with heart disease, he died from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mayoclinic.org\/diseases-conditions\/glioblastoma\/symptoms-causes\/syc-20569077#:~:text=Glioblastoma%20is%20a%20type%20of,of%20the%20face%20or%20body.\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:glioblastoma;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">glioblastoma<\/a>, a highly aggressive and rapidly growing brain tumor.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/entertainment\/celebrity\/articles\/nfl-wags-stun-sports-illustrated-222450579.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:Related: NFL WAGs Stun on Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Covers Ahead of Super Bowl LX;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Related: NFL WAGs Stun on Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Covers Ahead of Super Bowl LX<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\ud83c\udfac<a href=\"https:\/\/parade.com\/newsletters\/daily?utm_source=article&amp;utm_medium=top\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:SIGN UP for Parade&#039;s Daily newsletter to get the latest pop culture news &amp; celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">SIGN UP for Parade&#8217;s Daily newsletter to get the latest pop culture news &amp; celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox<\/a>\ud83c\udfac<\/p>\n<p>This story was originally published by <a href=\"https:\/\/parade.com\/celebrities\/greg-olsen-shares-death-of-brother-chris\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Parade;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Parade<\/a> on Feb 6, 2026, where it first appeared in the <a href=\"https:\/\/parade.com\/celebrities\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Celebs;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Celebs<\/a> section. Add Parade as a <a href=\"https:\/\/google.com\/preferences\/source?q=parade.com\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Preferred Source by clicking here.;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Preferred Source by clicking here.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Condolences are pouring in for former NFL tight end Greg Olsen, 40. The athlete-turned-television analyst shared a heartbreaking&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":461838,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[559],"tags":[30314,64,63,237110,20797,81073,3738,19977,60866,1296,1263,593,1262,85],"class_list":["post-461837","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl","tag-andrew-whitworth","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-chris-olsen","tag-christian-mccaffrey","tag-congenital-heart-disease","tag-fox-sports","tag-george-kittle","tag-greg-olsen","tag-heart-disease","tag-los-angeles-rams","tag-nfl","tag-san-francisco-49ers","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/461837","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=461837"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/461837\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/461838"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=461837"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=461837"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=461837"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}