J.W. Sanders, who spent six seasons as an NFL official and later became a mentor, professor and technical advisor, has died at 88.
Sanders passed away peacefully on February 19, 2026, in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He was born September 21, 1937, in Tennessee to Lawrence and Thelma Sanders of Mt.
Vernon, Illinois. His life, according to his obituary, was devoted to faith, family, education and athletics.
In the NFL, Sanders wore number 15 during the 1979-81 numbering system and then switched to number 29. He worked his entire league career as a back judge, a role now known as field judge. He was also on crews led by Gene Barth and Gordon McCarter.
One of the biggest games on his resume came on Monday Night Football, when he officiated the matchup between the undefeated Chicago Bears and the Miami Dolphins, who wanted the Bears to lose so they could protect the Dolphins’ 1972 undefeated season. Sanders also worked one playoff game, the 1982 first-round “Super Bowl Tournament” game between the Patriots and Dolphins following the strike-shortened 1982 season, and made a big incomplete pass call early in that game.
Before and after his NFL stint, Sanders officiated college football in the Big 10 Conference and worked several bowl games. In college, he served as a deep wing. From 1970 through 1998, he was a professor at Eastern Illinois University, and he also ran officiating camps and guided several aspiring officials.
After retiring, Sanders moved to Colorado and served as a technical advisor for the Mountain West Conference.
He is survived by his daughters, Lynn Cash and Mary Sanders, sister Sandy Beardsley, and grandchildren Krystan Tverberg and Krystopher Rowe. His wife of 52 years, Carol, along with daughter Catherine Rowe, grandson Nathanyal Rowe, his parents and brother Bobbie Sanders, all preceded him in death.
A Funeral Mass is scheduled for March 28, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Colorado Springs. Donations may be made to Pikes Peak Hospice.
In Other News...
Dolphins Fans Will Be Heartbroken By This Calais Campbell News
The Campbell family is facing an unimaginable loss after confirming the death of Nateal Campbell, the mother of veteran NFL standout Calais Campbell. The family has asked for privacy as they grieve and as the circumstances around her passing are examined, a painful reminder that even for players known mostly through Sundays and stat sheets, life can turn suddenly and brutally personal.
Calais Campbell has long been one of the leagues most respected voices, and Dolphins fans who watched him in Miami last season before he returned to Baltimore will feel this news especially hard. For now, football takes a back seat to a family trying to get through a devastating stretch, with the details still being sorted out and the next chapter far more important than anything happening on a field. [Read more 🡒]
Dolphins Enter Camp With One Crucial Secondary Battle Unsettled
Training camp is bringing a real test for the Dolphins at safety, where the competition is crowded and the margin for error is thin. Dante Trader looks like the one player most securely on track, but after that the room opens up quickly, with rookies and veterans all trying to separate themselves for a handful of jobs.
Michael Taaffe, Lonnie Johnson Jr., Major Burns and Zayne Anderson each bring a different case into camp, and Miami is banking on this staff being able to get more out of the group than past teams have. It is the kind of battle that can shape the back end of a defense, and it will be worth watching closely because not everyone in this mix is going to survive the cut. [Read more 🡒]
Dolphins May Finally Be Building A Tight End Room Fans Trust
Miamis tight end room has been one of the more watchable subplots as the roster keeps taking shape, and Greg Dulcich is now positioned as the most important piece in that conversation. The expectation is that he will be rewarded with an extension this year, which would give the Dolphins a chance to keep a player they view as central to the position while also letting the younger names behind him, Will Kacmarek and Seydou Traore, keep developing without being rushed into bigger roles.
What makes the group worth tracking is how clearly the long view is starting to come into focus. Miami does not appear eager to force a major splash at tight end right now, but the thinking around the building suggests that the bigger investment could come later, when the market opens up and the team is better positioned to chase a true top option in the 2027 or 2028 offseasons. For a position that has too often felt patched together, even that kind of patience would mark a meaningful shift. [Read more 🡒]