Arthur Jones, Super Bowl Champion With Baltimore Ravens, Dies at 39

He came from a renowned athletic family, being the older brother of UFC star Jon ‘Bones’ Jones and four-time NFL Pro Bowler Chandler Jones.

Arthur Jones (97) of the Indianapolis Colts celebrates their 41 to 10 win over the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., on Dec. 5, 2016. Elsa/Getty Images

Arthur Jones, an eight-year NFL veteran who won a Super Bowl, and is also part of a legendary sports family, has passed away at 39 years old.

The news was announced both by his alma mater of Syracuse, as well as the NFL franchise he spent most of his career with in the Baltimore Ravens. No cause of death was announced.

“We are terribly saddened to learn of Arthur Jones’ sudden passing,” Ravens General Manager Eric DeCosta said in a statement.

“Arthur’s presence was a gift to everyone he encountered,“ DeCosta said. ”His big, bright smile, infectious energy and eternal positivity created a presence that continuously uplifted others. He was kind, courteous and enthusiastic—always displaying a love for family, teammates and friends.”

Jones was the older brother of two other prominent athletes: UFC fighter Jon “Bones” Jones and another former NFL player, Chandler Jones.

Arthur Jones played in the National Football League from 2010 to 2017 after being drafted in the fifth round. He spent his first four years in Baltimore, with that tenure highlighted by winning Super Bowl XLVII at the end of the 2012 NFL season. Jones played in all 16 games that season and finished tied for third on the team with 4.5 sacks.

While he was known primarily as a run stopper rather than a pass rusher, Jones showed up huge in regard to the latter in the Super Bowl win over the San Francisco 49ers. With Baltimore holding a 28-6 lead early in the third quarter, Jones sacked Niners’ QB, Colin Kaepernick, for a six-yard loss in what would be the final play of the contest for 34 minutes. That’s because after that play, there was an infamous power outage at the venue hosting the game—the Superdome in New Orleans.

One could say that Jones, literally, turned the lights out on the 49ers with that sack. When power was restored and play resumed, San Francisco did have a bit of a rally, but Baltimore never lost its lead and would prevail 34-31.

Earlier in the game, in the second quarter, Jones also had another huge play when he recovered a fumble by San Francisco’s LaMichael James. For the contest, Jones finished with two solo tackles, one sack, a tackle for loss, one fumble recovery, and a quarterback hit.

After four years with the Ravens, Jones then departed for the Indianapolis Colts in free agency, spending three seasons (2014-16) with them. He played his final NFL season with Washington, which consisted of a single game before his season ended early due to injury. He would announce his retirement shortly after the 2017 NFL season ended.

For his career, Jones played in 64 games, starting 31 of them. He had 10 career sacks, with 173 tackles, two forced fumbles, and 17 tackles for loss.

His NFL career followed five years at Syracuse, four of which he played in. Jones, a native New Yorker, was a standout with the Orange, as he was a three-time All-Big East selection. His 38.5 tackles for loss at Syracuse are the most in school history by an interior lineman, and he ranks among the top 10 in Big East history in tackles for loss, regardless of position.

“Arthur Jones was a tremendous player and even better person,” said Syracuse AD John Wildhack. “He was someone that brought joy to everyone he encountered. We were fortunate that Arthur continued to support our football program after his playing career. He impacted many of our student-athletes, always with a smile and uplifting message. Our thoughts and prayers are with his loved ones. He will be forever Orange.”

Jones’s last year at Syracuse coincided with the first of his brother, Chandler, with the Orange in 2009. Chandler would then go on to an NFL career filled with accomplishments and achievements that far surpassed his older brother. Chandler also won a Super Bowl, in addition to being a four-time Pro Bowler, a two-time All-Pro, and leading the NFL with 17 sacks in 2017. He was named to the 2010 NFL All-Decades Team, and no player in the league had more sacks over a 10-year stretch than Chandler’s 107.5 from 2012 to 2021.

But both Arthur and Chandler pale in comparison to the middle Jones brother, UFC legend Jon Jones. Widely considered the greatest mixed martial artist of all-time, Jon Jones was the youngest champion in UFC history, held both the light heavyweight title (twice) and the heavyweight championship, and spent a UFC record 1,743 days ranked as the promotion’s No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter.

Both older brothers—Arthur and Jon—were multi-sport athletes at Union-Endicott High School in Upstate New York. They each played football and wrestled before Arthur went the route of the former, while Jon went the route of the latter.