ByteSize no. 24 · Beyond the Scoreboard · 2007 to 2019
Number 81
Aaron Hernandez went from the 113th pick to a $40 million contract to a life sentence for murder. Who saw it coming, and does what doctors found in his brain change the story?
Sit in the 2010 draft room, follow the jerseys fans gave back, read the court record as it changed three times, and look at the scan for yourself.
The player
Hernandez grew up in Bristol, Connecticut, the town where ESPN is headquartered. His father Dennis, a former UConn player, died after a routine hernia surgery in January 2006, when Aaron was 16. A year later Aaron left high school early to enroll at the University of Florida.
2009
National champion
Florida beats Oklahoma for the BCS title in January. In December he wins the Mackey Award as the best tight end in college football.
2010
Pick 113
Projected as a first or second rounder, he falls to the fourth round. New England takes him the day after drafting Rob Gronkowski.
2012
Super Bowl touchdown
He scores in Super Bowl XLVI against the Giants in February. In August he signs a five year extension worth about $40 million.
2013
Arrested
On June 26 police lead him from his North Attleborough home in handcuffs. The Patriots release him the same day.
2015
Life sentence
On April 15 a jury convicts him of the first degree murder of Odin Lloyd. He is 25.
You are in the draft room
April 2010. You run personnel for an NFL team. Everybody in the building can see the talent. The question is what else you know. Each time you pass, your scouts add another line to the file.
Scouting file · Aaron Hernandez, TE, Florida
Odin Lloyd
Odin Lloyd
1985 to 2013 · Linebacker, Boston Bandits
Odin Lloyd was 27. He was born in St. Croix, grew up in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, worked for a landscaping company and played linebacker for the Boston Bandits, a semi-pro team. He was dating Shaneah Jenkins, the sister of Hernandez's fiancée.
Most of what has been written about this case is about the famous man who killed him. His mother, Ursula Ward, sat through the whole trial. After the verdict she told the court she forgave the people involved in her son's death.
- June 17, 2013
Lloyd is shot to death in an industrial park in North Attleborough, Massachusetts, about a mile from Hernandez's house. A jogger finds his body that evening.
- June 26, 2013
Hernandez is arrested and charged with murder. About 90 minutes later the Patriots announce they have released him.
- Jan to Apr 2015
The trial in Fall River runs more than two months with over 130 witnesses. Prosecutors never prove a motive.
- April 15, 2015
After about 36 hours of deliberation, the jury finds Hernandez guilty of first degree murder. The sentence is life in prison without parole.
Erasing number 81
Ten days after the arrest, the Patriots did something no team had done. On July 6 and 7, 2013, fans could bring any number 81 Hernandez jersey bought at the team store and swap it for any other player's, free. The line started forming at 7:30 in the morning. Each shape below is ten jerseys.
Sources: Patriots team statements, July 6 to 8, 2013, reported by ESPN Boston, NESN and NFL.com.
Guilty, erased, guilty again
A verdict sounds final. Hernandez's record changed three times in four years. Step through it.
This part of the story includes a death by suicide. If it is heavy for you, talk to a counselor or someone you trust. You can call or text 988 any time.
The brain
His family donated his brain to Boston University's CTE Center. Chronic traumatic encephalopathy is a disease linked to repeated hits to the head. Doctors can only confirm it after death. Hernandez had played tackle football since he was a kid.
Youngest Stage 3 brains Boston University had seen, out of 468
Stage 3 of 4. Damage in the frontal lobe, which controls judgment and impulses, and in the hippocampus, which handles memory.
She said she could not "connect the dots" between the disease and his crimes.Dr. Ann McKee, Boston University, November 9, 2017 · Photo Bob Young, CC BY-SA 4.0
Where do you land?
Nothing here is graded. Mark each statement and see the line you draw.