Former Oakland Raiders center Barret Robbins, who was best known for disappearing the day before Super Bowl XXXVII, has died. He was 52.
Former teammate Tim Brown and the Raiders confirmed the news on social media.
“it’s with great regret i tell you i just received a call from Marissa Robbins informing me that Raiders All Pro center Barret Robbins passed away overnight. Thankfully, he passed peacefully in his sleep,” Brown wrote Friday on X, formerly Twitter. “Please pray for their girls, his family and tons of teammates who will be affected by this! It’s unfortunate that his life was never the same after he was not allowed to play in the Super Bowl! Rest Peacefully BR, you deserve it!”
Robbins went missing one day before the Raiders faced the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl XXXVII in January 2003. He returned to the team in time for the game. However, the Raiders opted against playing him. The Buccaneers won, 48-21.
Robbins later said he ended up in Tijuana, Mexico, which is about a 30-minute drive from where the Super Bowl was held in San Diego.
“The hardest part to me is that the feeling I had was that the game was over and we had won and that was the way I felt,” Robbins said at the time. “That’s the way my brain was functioning to take the stress off or to alleviate whatever it was, and I don’t know why, but that’s what was going on in my brain and that’s … it’s crazy to me.”
Robbins was treated for bipolar disorder and alcohol abuse during a 30-day stint in rehab.
“The Raiders Family is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Barret Robbins,” the team said in a statement. “Oakland’s second-round draft pick out of TCU in 1995, he was among the league’s top centers over nine seasons with the Raiders, earning first-team All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors in 2002. He played in 121 career games with 105 starts, all with the Silver and Black. The thoughts and condolences of the entire Raider Nation are with Barret’s family and friends during this difficult time.”
Robbins had several issues with the law after his playing days were over, including three arrests in the span of approximately one month in 2020, per multiple reports. He was sentenced to five years in prison in 2011 on drug charges while on probation. He was released after serving 1 1/2 years of that time.
