NEED TO KNOW
\nFormer NFL player Jordan Shipley was involved in a serious accident at his Texas ranch on Tuesday, Jan 6Shipley’s family announced that he was in a “critical but stable” condition after suffering “severe burns” when a machine he was operating caught fireHis brother Jaxon shared on Instagram that his life was “spared today by the grace of God”<\/p>\n
Former Texas Longhorns player Jordan Shipley is in critical but stable condition after suffering \u201csevere burns\u201d in an incident at his Texas ranch.\n<\/p>\n
The ex-NFL star, 40, was injured after a machine he was operating at his ranch \u201ccaught fire,\u201d his family announced<\/a> on Tuesday, Jan. 6.\n<\/p>\n \u201cJordan was involved in an accident this afternoon near his hometown of Burnet,\u201d Shipley\u2019s family said in a statement released by University of Texas Senior Associate Athletics Director John Bianco.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n According to his family, Jordan was operating a machine at his ranch when it \u201ccaught fire.\u201d He managed to free himself from the machine, but \u201cit was not before sustaining severe burns on his body in the process,\u201d they shared. Jordan was airlifted to the hospital in Austin following the incident.\n<\/p>\n \u201cHe was able to get to one of his workers on the ranch, who drove him to a local hospital. He was then care-flighted to Austin, where he remains in critical but stable condition,\u201d his family said.\n<\/p>\n Jordan Shipley playing with his team, the Texas Longhorns, in 2009.<\/p>\n Brian Bahr\/Getty<\/p>\n Jordan tied the knot with his wife, Sunny Leigh Shipley<\/a>, in Nashville in 2011, with the couple marking their 13th wedding anniversary on Instagram<\/a> in May 2024. The pair share two young sons, and just three days ago, Sunny shared an Instagram carousel<\/a> featuring the family’s happy Christmas celebrations.\n<\/p>\n Never miss a story \u2014 sign up for\u00a0PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter<\/a>\u00a0to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer\u200b\u200b, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n According to his Instagram<\/a> page, Jordan is the owner and broker of Shipley Ranches. His brother, former Longhorns receiver Jaxon Shipley, is a real estate agent at the company.\n<\/p>\n Jordan Shipley in 2009.<\/p>\n Brian Bahr\/Getty<\/p>\n Jaxon, 33, shared a statement<\/a> about the accident on Instagram, writing, \u201cPlease pray for full healing and no infections or other issues on his road to recovery. I don\u2019t want to get into all the details, other than his life was spared today by the grace of God and the sheer will to live. I believe prayer is effective so I\u2019m asking anyone and everyone to lift Jordan up in prayer.\u201d<\/p>\n Jordan\u2019s father, Bob Shipley, shared in an update on Facebook<\/a> on Tuesday that the former NFL player is undergoing several surgeries to treat his burns. \u201cThe biggest threats at this point seem to be infections and pneumonia,\u201d he wrote.\n<\/p>\n PEOPLE has reached out to Shipley\u2019s representative for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.\n<\/p>\n Jordan was a receiver and a kick returner for the Longhorns from 2006 to 2009. He was the team\u2019s top leader for receptions, achieving a record of 116 in 2009. He also ranked second in receiving yards with 1,489 yards received in that same year, per ESPN<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n In 2010, Jordan was drafted into the NFL by the Cincinnati Bengals. Two years later, he split his time playing with the Bengals, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Jacksonville Jaguars, before retiring from the game in 2014.<\/p>\n