Buffalo Bills legend Jim Kelly has revealed that he recently suffered a minor stroke, adding another chapter to a long series of health battles for the Hall of Fame quarterback. The update comes as Kelly continues to inspire Bills fans through his resilience, having previously overcome multiple battles with cancer before facing this latest health scare.
The disclosure came Monday at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, New York, where Kelly was on hand as the Buffalo Bills opened their new 60,108-seat open-air home. He gave a thumbs-up from the stands, then told reporters what had happened.
“He said he had a slight setback about a month and a half ago having a minor stroke,” WGR sportscaster Paul Hamilton reported from the scene. “He said he’s fine and feels great.”
Nick Sabato, Bills reporter and sports editor for GNN, confirmed that Kelly also said his most recent cancer scans have come back clean.
GettyORCHARD PARK, NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 02: Former Buffalo Bills quarterback Jim Kelly stands during the playing of the U.S. national anthem prior to a game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium in 2025.
Bills Legend’s Record of Setbacks and Survival
The stroke is the latest chapter in a post-career health story that has tested Kelly repeatedly but has so far failed to stop him.
His most harrowing fight began in June 2013, when doctors diagnosed him with squamous cell carcinoma of the upper jaw after months of jaw pain and gum deterioration steered him through root canals and an initial negative biopsy before a second opinion confirmed the cancer, according to Patient Resource. Surgery removed the left side of his upper jaw, multiple teeth, and part of the roof of his mouth. He was declared cancer-free within weeks, but doctors warned Kelly that the disease could return.
Sadly, that is what happened. By March 2014, the cancer was advancing toward his brain, too close to the carotid artery for surgery. Doctors gave him roughly a 10% chance of survival. Radiation and chemotherapy followed. He emerged cancer-free in August 2014, having lost approximately 70 pounds across both treatment rounds.
A third recurrence arrived in March 2018. Surgeons rebuilt his upper jaw using bone from his fibula. That June, he received the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance at the ESPYs. He was cancer-free again by January 2019.
GettyJim Kelly in action against the Chiefs in 1994.
The Career That Defined a Franchise
Kelly played 11 NFL seasons for the Bills, from 1986 through 1996, after a USFL run that included a league-record 5,219 passing yards in 1984 and a single-game mark of 574 yards in 1985. He finished with 35,467 NFL passing yards, 237 touchdowns, and a 60.1% completion rate.
His signature achievement was guiding Buffalo to four consecutive Super Bowl appearances in Super Bowls XXV through XXVIII, the first and still the only franchise to reach the championship game four straight years. Unfortunately, Buffalo lost all four. Kelly entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2002 on the first ballot.
After football, Kelly and his wife Jill founded Hunter’s Hope Foundation in 1997 following their son Hunter’s diagnosis with Krabbe leukodystrophy, a fatal neurological disease. Hunter lived to age 8, far outlasting his prognosis. The foundation funds leukodystrophy research, family care, and newborn screening.
The new Highmark Stadium, built across the street from the old venue, hosts its first game Sept. 17.
Buffalo Bills Legend Jim Kelly Reveals Health Update After Stroke