Ryan Hoffman's final days: a former football star's tragic end on the streets

It took several days to even find out who he was. He had a lot of promise, he could have become a world star with millions in his account, but his life ended tragically. He was only 41 years old.

Ryan Hoffman was a physical marvel. He was 6' 1" tall and weighed 300 pounds. The ideal build for an American football player. He was a starter for North Carolina in the 1990s, a team that was in the top 10 at the time.

Hoffman's former coaches remember him as someone who was loyal to the number 79, a tough guy who played almost every offense in 1997, his final season.

Hoffman once said that he only remembered one concussion, but that he didn't want to tell the coaches about the concussions so as not to lose his starting spot.

After college, Hoffman got married and had a daughter, but he couldn't keep his job. He abused alcohol, spent time in jail, and struggled with depression and unbearable headaches.

He divorced in 2008. His parents and sister said they tried everything to help him get back on track.

They gave him a place to live, bought him cars, paid for his legal and medical bills.

"Nothing we did could stop his downward spiral," said his father, Chad Hoffman.

"I can't even begin to describe how heartbreaking it was to watch him drift away from us. It was like you were trying to catch him, but he kept slipping through your fingers."

"If Ryan doesn't get help soon, I'm afraid we'll find him dead on the side of the road," his mother, Irene, once said.

Unfortunately, her mother's intuition was right, as Hoffman ended his life in a truly tragic and sad way.

Death

He was homeless before his death, and reporters filmed him on the streets begging and asking for help with his girlfriend Michelle Pettigrew.

One night he was riding his bike on the highway when he hit a car and tragically ended his life. It was never revealed why he did it.

The police were only able to identify him thanks to fingerprints. Born July 15, 1974, and died November 16, 2015.

On that occasion, $13, or a little over 10 euros, was found in his pocket.

"I wanted to find out exactly what happened to my brother, but I simply know that football did all this to him. I watched what he went through for 15 years...", said his sister Kira when she learned of his death.