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Former Wisconsin football player Jack Pugh, who left college football due to mental health issues, has died, the university announced Tuesday. He was 24 years old.
Pugh, an Ohio native, was a tight end on the Badgers football team from 2021 to 2022. The cause of his death was not immediately known.
Pugh redshirted his freshman year and made his debut for Wisconsin in a game against Minnesota the following season. But in December 2023, he announced that he would be stepping away from the sport due to mental health issues. (Courtesy of Wisconsin Athletics)
“The Wisconsin Athletics family is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Jack Pugh. Jack was a positive light and brought genuine spirit to our football program. More than that, he cared about people and was loved by his teammates and staff,” the statement read.
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“Jack proudly earned his degree from UW-Madison in 2025 and will always be remembered and loved.”
Pugh redshirted his freshman year and made his debut for Wisconsin in a game against Minnesota the following season. But in December 2023, he announced that he would be stepping away from the sport due to mental health issues.
Pugh redshirted his freshman year and made his debut for Wisconsin in a game against Minnesota the following season. But in December 2023, he announced that he would be stepping away from the sport due to mental health issues. (Courtesy of Wisconsin Athletics)
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“I made the decision before football season to medically retire, which I have not yet formally announced. My physical health was not nearly perfect, but my mental health was the reason I decided to quit,” he wrote in an Instagram post at the time.
“After years of prolonged depression and substance abuse, I decided that I deserved a better life and to finally find happiness. In no way was football the root of these problems, but everything in my life had distracted me for so long to the point that I had never prioritized my mental health, digging myself a deeper, darker hole.”
Pugh redshirted his freshman year and made his debut for Wisconsin in a game against Minnesota the following season. But in December 2023, he announced that he would be stepping away from the sport due to mental health issues. (Courtesy of Wisconsin Athletics)
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New York Jets running back Braelon Allen, who was Pugh’s teammate during his time at Wisconsin, shared a message on X seemingly in response to the news of Pugh’s death.
“Protect your mental”, his X publication.
