Former NFL tight end Vernon Davis is dealing with tragedy this week after the death of his brother Vontae, who passed away on Monday at the age of 35.

Police haven’t released very many details about the situation, but Vernon did share a new piece of information during an interview with the Daily Mail this week. According to Vernon, it appears that Vontae may have collapsed or slipped moments after he stepped out of a sauna. However, Vernon did point out that authorities still don’t have an official cause of death and there likely won’t be one for at least another month as police continue to investigate.

“I’m leaning on the detectives to figure it out, but right now we have no answers,” Vernon Davis said. “They are going to run tests and they said they’ll get back to us. It could be as long as a month, a month and a half, until we know anything.”

The 40-year-old Davis said he was shocked to hear about the death of his younger brother.

“This thing definitely caught me by surprise. I just don’t know what to make of it,” Vernon said.

The older brother noted that he had been hanging out with Vontae in Florida as recently as last month and everything seemed completely normal.

“I was at his house two weeks ago and he had the massage therapist there,” Vernon said. “He had a stretch therapist, a chiropractor, you name it.”

Vontae’s ex-wife, Megan Harpe, told the Daily Mail that CTE may have been a factor in Vontae’s death, but Vernon isn’t quite ready to buy that theory yet.

“Maybe that’s the case, maybe it’s not. We don’t really have an answer to that because there is no way to see into our brain while we live,” Vernon Davis said. “Vontae never really showed a history of using drugs or anything like that.”

Vernon said his little brother was a hard worker who was successfully navigating their “tough background.”

“I’m proud of him for his great work ethic, for his ability, his discipline,” Vernon said. “For understanding the difference between being good and great at something and for putting in the work. We were the difference-makers in our family. We came from a tough background, but we had goals and aspirations to be better than the space we came out of.”

Vernon was clearly proud of Vontae.

“I could not have picked a better little brother,” Vernon said.

Not only did both brothers overcome the odds to make it to the NFL, but they also both got voted to two Pro Bowls during their careers. Vernon played for 15 seasons before retiring in 2019 while Vontae played 10 years in the NFL before hanging up his cleats for good in 2018.

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