Joey Browner death: He was a star defensive back for USC and Vikings

Joey Browner, USC star defensive back and six-time NFL Pro Bowl selection, has died. He was 65 years old.

“The Vikings mourn the loss of Ring of Honor member Joey Browner,” the team said in a statement Sunday. “Browner will be greatly missed by his former coaches and teammates, as well as many others he influenced throughout his life.”

The Vikings added in a separate article: “He helped define what it means to be an NFL safety. »

No cause of death was given. In August, former Minnesota quarterback Tommy Kramer hosted a fundraiser for Browner, who Kramer said was “struggling with serious health issues.”

On Sunday, Kramer wrote of Browning on Facebook: “Not just a great player, a great person. Rest in peace my friend.”

Browner was one of six brothers, all of whom played college football and four of whom went on to play in the NFL. His younger brother, Keith Browner, who also played at USC and spent five seasons in the NFL, died in November at age 63 after a sudden illness.

Older brother Ross Browner, who played 10 seasons in the NFL for the Cincinnati Bengals and Green Bay Packers, died in 2022. Another older brother, Jim Browner, who played two seasons for the Bengals, died in 2024.

A high school star in football, basketball and track and field, Browner played at USC from 1979 to 1982. He was named team MVP his senior year and finished his college career with nine interceptions and 40 pass deflections, as well as a punt return for a touchdown.

In the 1983 draft, Browner became the first defensive back to be selected by the Vikings in the first round (19th overall). He then played nine seasons in Minnesota, making the Pro Bowl six times (1985-1990) and spent his final season in the NFL with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Browner finished his career with 37 interceptions, 17 forced fumbles and 17 fumble recoveries. He was named to the 1980s NFL Team, selected by the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and inducted into the Vikings Ring of Honor in 2013.

Sean Salisbury, a former quarterback whose career intersected with Browner’s in college and the NFL, was one of many members of the football community to pay tribute to the four-time All-Pro player.

“This is a major gut punch,” Salisbury wrote on

Former tight end Steve Jordan, who played nine seasons with Browner in Minnesota, recently visited his former teammate in the Twin Cities, according to a Vikings press release.

“We have lost a great friend and one of the Vikings’ best teammates,” Jordan said in a statement released by the team. “God blessed Joey with phenomenal talent and a big heart to love people and be a beacon of positivity. Truly, he will be missed.”

Former quarterback Rich Gannon, who played five seasons with Browner in Minnesota, wrote on

Retired punter Greg Coleman wrote on X that “one of the happiest moments of my time with the Vikings” was learning that Browner was going to be added to the punt team.

“One of the best teammates you could have and a man I called Friend!” Coleman wrote. “Prayers for his family. RIP JB!”

Current Vikings cornerback Dwight McGlothern wrote on [have] I had the chance to meet him and [represent] the # he wore with the Vikings!! Every time I walk into the DB room, I always see greatness on the wall!!”