 Belcher with the Chiefs in November 2010 | |||||||
| No. 59 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Linebacker | ||||||
| Personal information | |||||||
| Born: | July 24, 1987 West Babylon, New York, U.S. | ||||||
| Died: | December 1, 2012 (aged 25) Kansas City, Missouri, U.S. | ||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||
| Weight: | 228 lb (103 kg) | ||||||
| Career information | |||||||
| High school: | West Babylon (NY) | ||||||
| College: | Maine | ||||||
| Undrafted: | 2009 | ||||||
| Career history | |||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||
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| Player stats at PFR | |||||||
Jovan Henry Allen Belcher (July 24, 1987 – December 1, 2012) was an American football linebacker who played his entire career with the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He grew up in West Babylon, New York and was a standout high school athlete before attending and graduating from the University of Maine, where he played for the Maine Black Bears football team. Belcher was named an All-American twice in college after switching in his junior year from linebacker to defensive end.
Belcher was considered a strong small-school NFL prospect but was not selected in the 2009 NFL draft. He was later signed as a free agent by the Chiefs and became a regular starter at inside linebacker in 2010. His most productive season was in 2011 when he had 61 tackles and 26 assists. He was re-signed by Kansas City before the 2012 season and played in the team's first 11 games before his death.
Belcher died on December 1, 2012, in a murder-suicide, killing his girlfriend, 22-year-old Kasandra Perkins, before driving to the Chiefs' training facility and shooting himself in the head with a handgun.