Former Arizona Cardinals offensive tackle Luis Sharpe died Friday at age 65, ending the life of one of the franchise’s most accomplished players who later became an advocate for recovery and mental health awareness.
Sharpe’s wife, Tameka Williams-Sharpe, announced his death on Facebook on Saturday, July 12. She wrote that his strength, love, and faith were a light to all who knew him, and that she trusted he was now resting in God’s eternal peace.
The Yahoo News report indicated that Sharpe died peacefully of heart failure on Friday. He was 65 years old.
Born in Havana, Cuba, Sharpe was selected 16th overall in the first round of the 1982 NFL Draft by the then-St. Louis Cardinals. He played his entire 13-season professional career with the franchise, staying with the team through its relocation from St. Louis to Phoenix and eventually to Arizona. Sharpe started all 189 games of his NFL career.
The left tackle earned three consecutive Pro Bowl selections from 1987 to 1989 and was named to the All-Pro second team in both 1988 and 1990. He is widely regarded as the best left tackle in Cardinals franchise history.
Before his NFL career, Sharpe played four seasons at UCLA from 1978 to 1981, where he was a four-year letterwinner and three-year starter. As a freshman in 1978, he earned the John F. Boncheff Jr. Memorial Trophy as the team’s Rookie of the Year. His senior season in 1981 was particularly notable, as he received both the Henry R. “Red” Sanders Award for Team Offensive MVP and the N.N. Sugarman Memorial Award for Best Leadership while earning First Team All-American honors from Sporting News.
Following his retirement from professional football, Sharpe faced significant personal challenges, battling alcohol and drug addiction. He was arrested multiple times, spent time in jail, and was shot twice during drug transactions. These struggles continued for years after his playing career ended.
However, Sharpe had been sober for eight years before his death. He told the Detroit Free Press in December 2024 that the turning point in his life was the intensive Bible study he began while in prison. “God has taken my mess and turned it into a message,” Sharpe told the paper.
In his final years, Sharpe dedicated himself to helping others facing similar struggles. He returned to Detroit, Michigan, where he had immigrated as a six-year-old boy from Cuba, to focus on service work. He volunteered with the nonprofit Sobriety House Inc. in Detroit and worked with the NFL Players Association Detroit Chapter.
Sharpe also served as an ambassador for Hall of Fame Health, an affiliate of the Pro Football Hall of Fame that provides medical care to retired athletes, collegiate alumni, veterans, and their families. In this role, he traveled to Super Bowl LVIII in Paradise, Nevada, in 2024 to share his life experiences with the NFL community.
Working alongside his daughter Rebekah, Sharpe addressed drug and mental health crises by sharing their story about addiction and its effects on their lives. He spent time counseling patients at a Detroit sobriety clinic and worked with the NFL to help former players with their post-retirement health challenges.
Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill released a statement about Sharpe’s passing, noting that throughout his lengthy career with the team, Sharpe exhibited an uncommon type of strength and toughness that made him successful as a player. Bidwill added that Sharpe admirably demonstrated those same traits in dealing with the personal challenges he faced after his career ended.
Sharpe told The Athletic in 2020 that he felt more significant in his recovery work than he ever did playing professional football, describing his life as better and noting that what he thought was his greatest curse had turned into his greatest blessing. He explained that helping others gave him a sense of purpose and that he recognized his current life was possible because he had overcome numerous obstacles and challenges.
Sharpe’s 13-year marriage to Tameka Williams-Sharpe brought forth five children: Leah Tamarah (deceased), Rebekah Alicia, Sarah Paulina, Luis Ernesto, and Hannah Gabriella.