Jarrett Payton was 19 years old when his father died. A rare type of liver cancer called Cholangiocarcinoma took Walter Payton’s life at the far-too-young age of 45, and Jarrett was sitting bedside on that November morning in 1999 when it happened.
“I remember that day in November of ‘99, and it was just an odd day, man,” he told NBC Sports Chicago. “Being at home, and then being there by my dad’s side when he passed, and knowing there was so much commotion outside of parents’ room about what’s next, and helicopters flying over our house, and all this stuff.