Getty Images
Former Indianapolis Colts offensive lineman Matt Ulrich has died, team owner Jim Irsay revealed Wednesday on X, formerly known as Twitter. He was 41.
Details surrounding his death have not been made public.
Jim Irsay @JimIrsay
I am heartbroken to hear of the passing of Matt Ulrich. Matt was with us only two seasons, but left his mark on many. Great guy, I hear he was a great dad—and he was a Super Bowl champ. My prayers to his family. 🙏 pic.twitter.com/Cb21IkP1XT
Ulrich signed with the Colts in 2005 as an undrafted free agent out of Northwestern. He also spent the 2006 season in Indianapolis, helping the franchise claim a Super Bowl title alongside Peyton Manning with a win over the Chicago Bears.
Ulrich appeared in 10 games for the Colts across two seasons, which were his only two years in the NFL.
In an interview with MontanaSports.com in 2019, Ulrich reflected on winning a Super Bowl with the Colts:
“Again, seeing the confetti come down Colts colors and be able to hold the Lombardi Trophy, everyone being on the field, I had to remind myself to take one moment for myself—it was good advice I got from someone that if you do win it take that last moment to look back at the tunnel and just look at the scoreboard, look at the field, and just know you’re at the pinnacle of sports. And that’s quite an awesome feeling.”
Following his retirement from football, Ulrich lived in Montana, where he cofounded DexaFit LLC, “a national brand of body fat and metabolic testing centers across the U.S.”
Ulrich was also a player adviser for Harvard Football Players Health Study and the managing director and partner with Montana-based Profitable Ideas Exchange, which advises professional services firms.
“I’d love to tell you that I could have played for another decade. But the fact of the matter is, and I’ve probably said this to you before, that the NFL stands for ‘Not For Long.’ I was a guy who had to beat out a draft pick in 2005 and beat out another draft pick in 2006,” Ulrich told MontanaSports.com.
“We won the Super Bowl that year, the 2007 Super Bowl 41. Went on to have another season in NFL Europe, came on to training camp with the Colts and just knew those roster spots are so slim and I tell the athletes I work with, have something past football.”
