Jason Hairston obit

Jason Hairston, former 49ers linebacker and hunting gear mogul, dies at 47

 He was not on the list.

Jason Hairston, a football star turned hunting gear CEO, is dead at age 47.

The cause of death was not immediately known.

Hairston was a star linebacker for the U.C. Davis Aggies in the 1990s, before brief stints with the San Francisco 49ers and the Denver Broncos. He retired from football in 1996 at age 24 due to injuries.

After his athletic career ended, Hairston pursued commercial real estate before founding a hunting-gear company called Sitka in 2005. He sold the company four years later and founded another hunting apparel outfitter, KUIU. The company did $50 million in sales in its fifth year of business, Forbes reported in 2017.

KUIU confirmed the news of Hairston's "tragic passing" on Twitter Wednesday.

"His legacy lives on in KUIU's spirit of relentless innovation," the statement said.

Days before his death, Hairston had embarked on a sheep hunting trip with his friend Donald Trump Jr. in Canada, according to Hairston's Instagram.

Trump Jr. mourned the loss of Hairston on social media Thursday.

"You were and will continue to be an inspiration to all outdoorsmen and women for generations to come," he said, thanking him for "the friendship and memories."

Hairston, an Orange County native, was the starting linebacker at U.C. Davis in the early 1990s, before breaking his neck in his junior season during a Division II playoff game. In 1995, he signed as an unrestricted free agent with the 49ers. He would land on the roster of the Broncos one year later. He retired in 1996.

Hairston cited ongoing issues from his neck injury as the reason for retiring from football, in a 2016 interview with the Daily Mail.

"I played linebacker, and the way I played the game, I led with my head. I played the way they tell us not to play now," he said. "I have all the symptoms of CTE."

A friend to many athletes and outdoorsmen, Hairston eventually translated his celebrity into a role at the White House. In 2017, he was appointed as a liaison between the U.S. Department of the Interior and hunting groups on conservation and public lands issues.

Hairston is survived by his wife, Kirstyn, and their young children, Cash and Coco.

Hairston grew up in Southern California. In high school, he was an All-Orange County defender at Foothill High School. He attended the University of California, Davis and, in 1993, was named a starting linebacker for UC Davis Aggies football. In his junior season, he broke his neck during a Division II playoff game, damaging his C5 and C6 vertebrae. In 1995, he was signed as an unrestricted free agent to the San Francisco 49ers. After a year with the team, he transferred to the Denver Broncos before retiring in 1996.