Vernon Davis has posted an emotional tribute to his late brother Vontae, nearly three weeks after the former NFL star’s shocking death.
Vontae’s body was discovered on April 1 when a housekeeper came to work and saw the former cornerback slumped motionless on the floor of his gym at his home in Southwest Ranches, Florida.
Detectives opened an ongoing investigation into the 35-year-old man’s unexplained death, but their initial findings did not point to foul play.
There was no evidence of a break-in and nothing was altered at the $4 million mansion in the posh South Florida enclave where Gisele Bundchen, Dwayne Johnson and fellow soccer star Tyreek Hill have homes.
Vernon took to Instagram on Thursday night to post a photo of his brother with the song ‘Missing You’ as the soundtrack.
Vernon Davis posted a touching tribute to his late brother Vontae on Thursday night.
Vernon told DailyMail.com: “Vontae never showed a history of drug use or anything like that.”
She captioned the post: ‘The perfect picture for the most amazing soul! Absent from the body but present with the Lord. I love you brother!’
Both brothers enjoyed successful careers in the NFL, with Vontae suiting up for the Dolphins, Colts and Bills and Vernon winning Super Bowl 50 with the Broncos.
Former first-round pick Vontae played for 10 seasons, but shocked the sport in 2018 by leaving a game at halftime and declaring he was “done.”
Explaining his abrupt retirement, he told reporters that his body had been worn down by multiple injuries and surgeries, adding: “Reality hit me fast and hard: I shouldn’t be out there anymore.”
Vontae also revealed that he was concerned about the risks of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a devastating brain injury caused by repeated blows to the head.
His ex-wife Megan Harpe suggested in a text message to DailyMail.com earlier this month that he suffered from the condition.
“Yes, I had CTE…there’s definitely a story here,” he said, without elaborating.
Davis, 35, died at his home in Southwest Ranches and was found collapsed on the floor of his gym.
Reported symptoms of CTE include memory loss, depression, paranoia, and suicidal thoughts. A recent study identified the disease in more than 300 deceased NFL players, including Patriots tight end-turned-murderer Aaron Hernandez.
Speaking about his brother’s mysterious death earlier this month, Vernon told DailyMail.com: “I couldn’t have asked for a better little brother.”
The 40-year-old said in an exclusive interview that his brother appeared to have collapsed or slipped moments after leaving a sauna.
‘This definitely took me by surprise. I just don’t know what to do with this,” Vernon said, almost speechless as he paid a heartbreaking tribute to Vontae.
He added: “I’m relying on the detectives to solve it, but right now we don’t have answers.” They are going to run tests and said they will contact us.
“It could be up to a month, a month and a half, until we know something.”
Davis played for the Miami Dolphins, Indianapolis Colts and Buffalo Bills during his NFL career.
‘We were four years apart, but I remember waking him up to exercise when he was young and I was in high school. I made him do it because I wanted him to succeed even more than I wanted me to succeed,” Vernon said of his brother.
Vernon said his brother was diagnosed with attention deficit disorder growing up, but seemed to be in good health and had never mentioned anything about a brain injury.
‘Maybe that’s the case, maybe not. “We don’t really have an answer to that because there’s no way to see inside our brains while we’re living,” he said.
‘Vontae never really showed a history of drug use or anything like that.
‘I was at his house two weeks ago and he had the masseuse there. He had a stretch therapist, a chiropractor, you name it.
Vontae had spent much of last year embroiled in legal trouble, including a divorce and a $1 million lawsuit stemming from a horrific DUI crash in February 2023, in which he crashed his Tesla into a stopped truck and then came to rest. asleep on the side of the road.
However, the former athlete had also embarked on a number of new projects, including a luxury chauffeur business and a television documentary showing how he and Vernon overcame their poverty-stricken childhood to become farm heroes.