Sports
Jim Otto, Hall of Fame Raiders center who never missed a game, dies at 86
Jim Otto, the Hall of Fame center who never missed a game during his 15 seasons with the Raiders in the 1960s and 1970s, has died at 86, the team announced Sunday night. No cause of death was given.
“The Raiders Family is in deep mourning following the passing of Jim Otto,” the Las Vegas Raiders said in a statement posted on X (formerly Twitter). “The Original Raider. The personification of consistency, Jim’s influence on the American Football League and professional football as a whole cannot be overstated. His leadership and tenacity were a hallmark of the dominant Raider teams of the 1960s and 70s.”
Jim Otto poses with his bust after being enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Aug. 2, 1980, in Canton, Ohio.
(Associated Press)
Otto was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1980, his first year of eligibility, with a speech by late Raiders owner Al Davis.
“For more than a decade he was the standard of excellence by which centers were judged in professional football,” Davis said of Otto during his speech. “He was the most honored offense lineman in the history of professional football. But statistics are just a measure of accomplishment, not really the measure of a man. If it is true that great men inspire in others the will to be great, that alone qualifies Jim to be a great man.”
On Sunday night, the Raiders tweeted a video of current owner Mark Davis lighting his father’s memorial torch at Allegiant Stadium in Otto’s honor.
An undrafted rookie out of the University of Miami in 1960, Otto was the first person to snap the ball for the Oakland Raiders, a first-year team in the new American Football League that competed with the NFL until the leagues merged in 1970. He was a 10-time All-AFL selection, making him the only center to earn that honor, and was named to 12 Pro Bowls before retiring after the 1974 season.
He is one of three players to have played in every game during the 10-season span of the AFL. The others are Gino Capelletti of the Boston Patriots and George Blanda of the Houston Oilers and Raiders.
Otto was nicknamed “Double 0,” after his jersey number 00 — a nod to the pronunciation of his last name, “Aught-oh”) — which he wore every season except his first, when he was issued No. 50.
He also earned the moniker “Mr. Raider” during a career in which he played 210 straight regular-season games and 223 straight games counting playoffs. He played through numerous ailments and medical conditions, having undergone nine knee surgeries during his career.
“There’s something inside of you that says, ‘I want to go out there and prove my worth,’ ” Otto told Bleacher Report in 2009. “Most of the time you’re going to get injuries. That’s the life you choose. Some people need a challenge in life and they play hockey or rugby. Football was the way I could prove myself.”
In a 2012 interview with PBS’ “Frontline,” Otto stated that he had been operated on 74 times in his lifetime. He had multiple joint replacements, as well as procedures to help deal with arthritis and debilitating neck and back issues. After two major infections, Otto had his right leg amputated above the knee in 2007.
Hall of Famer Jim Otto smiles before an NFL football game between the Raiders and the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sept. 24 in Las Vegas.
(Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)
Otto also told “Frontline” he had suffered more than 20 concussions.
“I think that everything that has caused my body to be a problem has been from football, you know?” he said.
In 2002, Otto revealed he was battling advanced prostate cancer.
“A couple years ago, with readings like mine, you would have had six months to live,” Otto told The Times’ Sam Farmer at the time. “[But] we’ve got a way of fighting it, and we’re going to kick its butt.”
Four years later, after finishing his treatment at the UC Davis Cancer Center, Otto agreed to chair the center’s $35-million capital and endowment initiative.
“I would just love to see more people being saved and being cured from cancer,” Otto said at the time. “That’s why I’m doing this. You don’t want anyone else to have to go through the agony that comes along with a cancer diagnosis and cancer treatment. Especially kids. I’ve visited the children in the pediatric ward and, well, that eats your heart out. Something has to be done.”
Otto was born Jan. 5, 1938, in Wausau, Wis. His family lived in poverty, at one point having to move into a chicken coop for shelter. He played football at Wausau High School and was a center and linebacker at Miami before helping establish the Raiders as a force in the AFL and later the NFL. They won their division in seven of Otto’s final eight seasons, winning the AFL title following the 1967 season before losing to the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl II.
“Rip Jim Otto,” Raiders star defensive end Maxx Crosby tweeted Sunday night. “Absolute Legend & Incredible Person.”
In all eight of those seasons, Otto started every game alongside fellow future Hall of Fame offensive lineman Gene Upshaw.
“Jim Otto personified the aura and mystique of the Raiders,” Pro Football Hall of Fame President Jim Porter said in a statement. “… The Pro Football Hall of Fame will guard his legacy with the same diligence and tenacity that he guarded his teammates.”
Otto kept close ties with the Raiders organization following his retirement as a player. He played a key role in negotiating the team’s move back to Oakland from Los Angeles before the 1995 season (the Raiders moved to Las Vegas in 2020) and most recently was the club’s director of special projects.
In January, Otto visited the locker room following a win over the Denver Broncos in the final game of the season.
“The @Raiders lost a legend in HOF Jim Otto,” Rich Gannon, who was the Raiders quarterback from 1999-2004, wrote Monday on X. “I will never forget the first time I met him in the equipment room in Alameda. His stories were legendary but his kindness and humility is what I will remember the most. God Bless brother!”
He is survived by his wife, Sally, son Jim and daughter-in-law Leah, and 14 grandchildren — Alice, Sarah, Amy, Amanda, Josiah, Hannah, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Jennifer, Avery, Noah, Aiden, Roman and Ellie.
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The College Football Playoff Committee’s penultimate rankings caused a bunch of consternation among fans, and one Heisman Trophy hopeful called on the president to take charge.
The Vanderbilt Commodores are on the outside looking in at the final field with no more games left on their calendar. Vanderbilt has only two losses on the season – against the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Texas Longhorns. Both of them are conference opponents, which kept them from getting into the SEC Championship.
Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia (2) throws to a receiver during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Tennessee, Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025, in Knoxville, Tennessee. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)
Diego Pavia wrote on social media that President Donald Trump should sign an executive order to expand the field with days before the final bracket is released.
“@realDonaldTrump MAKE THE EXECUTIVE ORDER PLEASE,” he wrote on X.
Pavia responded to a post that called for the expansion of the College Football Playoff from 12 teams to 16 teams. The post called for the CFP to have four SEC teams, four Big Ten teams, two ACC teams, two Big 12 teams and four at-large bids.
“Get rid of these stupid committees filled with justifications nobody seems to understand,” the post added.
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President Donald Trump listens during a Cabinet meeting at the White House, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Trump taking over the CFP Committee was something Secretary of State Marco Rubio joked about in an appearance on CNN.
Right now, feeling the hurt the most are the Miami Hurricanes, who are sitting on the outside looking into the field despite having a head-to-head advantage against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
There are a few conference championship games Saturday that could shake up the rankings a bit. The BYU Cougars losing to the Texas Tech Red Raiders in the Big 12 Championship will ultimately hurt them and possibly catapult them into the field. The possibility of Alabama staying in the field despite having three losses should they lose to the Georgia Bulldogs in the SEC title game, would create more heated conversation as well.
Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia (2) runs for yardage as he escapes from Tennessee defensive lineman Ethan Utley (17) during the second half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025, in Knoxville, Tennessee. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)
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The final rankings will come out Sunday once the conference championship games are finished.
Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Los Angeles Times NFL writer Sam Farmer examines the matchups and makes his predictions for Week 14 of the NFL season.
All lines and over/under numbers are according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
Last week, Farmer posted a 11-5 (.688) record. Through the first 13 weeks of the season, he is 130-64 (.670).
Using point spreads with the scores Farmer predicted, his record against the spread in Week 13 would have been 7-9 (.438). For the season, his record against the spread is 98-96 (.505).
All times are Pacific and TV reflects broadcasts in the Los Angeles area. The 49ers, Giants, Panthers, Patriots are off this week.
Sports
House vote on NIL regulation act canceled despite Trump’s backing as some Republicans still not on board
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A House vote on the SCORE Act (Student Compensation and Opportunity through Rights and Endorsements), which would regulate name, image, and likeness deals, was canceled shortly before it was set to be brought to the floor.
There was a vote on Tuesday to bring it to the floor, which won 210-209. The House vote was supposed to take place around 4 p.m. ET but was canceled in the 2 p.m. hour.
The White House endorsed the act on Tuesday, but three Republicans, Byron Donalds (Fla.), Scott Perry (Pa.), and Chip Roy (Texas) voted with Democrats not to bring the act to the floor. Democrats have largely opposed the bill, urging members of the House to vote “no.”
The Ohio State Buckeyes line up for an extra point attempt during the second quarter against the Michigan Wolverines at Michigan Stadium on Nov. 29, 2025, in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Luke Hales/Getty Images)
“The unique American institution of collegiate athletics provides life-changing educational and leadership-development opportunities to more than 500,000 student-athletes through almost $4 billion in scholarships each year, fuels American Olympic success, and serves as an indelible part of many local economies and communities,” the White House said in a release Tuesday.
“Yet the future of college sports, and especially the future of Olympic and non-revenue sports, is threatened by significant legal and financial uncertainty. Urgent federal action is necessary to provide the stability, fairness, and balance that will protect student-athletes and preserve collegiate athletic opportunities.”
The White House added that the act “is a crucial step toward enacting legislation that will preserve and strengthen this institution that is central to American culture and success.” It did not respond to a request for comment regarding Wednesday’s cancellation.
The SCORE Act would give the NCAA a limited antitrust exemption in hopes of protecting the NCAA from potential lawsuits over eligibility rules and would prohibit athletes from becoming employees of their schools. It prohibits schools from using student fees to fund NIL payments. Republicans could attempt to vote on the act as early as Thursday.
Roy posted on X Wednesday that he would “vote no” to the act.
The NCAA logo on an entrance sign outside the NCAA Headquarters on Feb. 28, 2023 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
OLE MISS PLAYERS PUSH BACK ON LANE KIFFIN’S CLAIM THAT TEAM ASKED AD TO LET HIM FINISH SEASON WITH REBELS
“The SCORE Act (college sports) is well-intended but falls short and is not ready for prime time. I will vote no. Putting aside the process problems (we should have been able to amend)… there are lots of legitimate concerns and questions,” Roy wrote.
The Congressional Black Caucus also opposed the act in a statement Wednesday.
“We can all agree that college athletes need stronger protections. Unfortunately, the SCORE Act doesn’t provide them,” it said. “It would permanently strip college athletes of labor and employment rights, including the right to unionize; prevent them from challenging harmful or anticompetitive conduct; and grant the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and conferences sweeping immunity when their actions jeopardize athletes’ education, health, safety, or financial well-being..
“We cannot lose sight of the human impact here. At the center of this issue are the college athletes, many of whom are Black students and who may not come from sizable financial means. College athletes too often report struggling with injuries, food insecurity, poverty, and homelessness. It is wholly unfair that universities and coaches are lining their pockets while leaving so little, if anything, for the college athletes who make those profits possible.”
The NCAA headquarters in Indianapolis is shown on Thursday, March 12, 2020. (Michael Conroy, File/AP Photo)
President Donald Trump signed an executive order to “save college sports” in July.
Fox News’ Ryan Gaydos contributed to this report.
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