GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA — Chris Payton-Jones, a former UFL defensive back from the Jacksonville, Florida, area, died in a head-on car crash on State Road 24 in Gainesville, Florida, on Saturday night. He was 30 years old.

Payton-Jones was driving a sedan eastbound in the westbound lanes of State Road 24 when his vehicle collided head-on with a pickup truck. He was pronounced dead at the scene and was the only person killed in the crash. Three people in the pickup truck sustained only minor injuries.

A native of the Jacksonville area, Payton-Jones played college football at the University of Nebraska from 2014 to 2017. The 6-foot, 230-pound defensive back was not selected in the 2018 NFL draft. He recorded 48 tackles and seven passes defended during his professional career. He spent the past two seasons with the St. Louis Battlehawks of the UFL, most recently playing for the Seattle Battlehawks in 2024, before retiring from professional football in January.

After retiring, Payton-Jones made his side business of content creation a full-time job. His YouTube channel, Flashflix, accumulated more than 1.3 million views. He was known in his local community for his Flashflix media company and mentored young videographers interested in sports media.

High school football coach Ada Geis remembered Payton-Jones in a statement. "The kid never missed a workout, never missed practice, and never wanted to come off the field. Everyone loved him," Geis said. "He was always unbelievably positive. I've never heard that kid ever say anything negative about anyone or anything."