A report citing unnamed sources from Clear Channel online indicates that Hall of Fame offensive lineman Gene Upshaw, the long-time Executive Director of the NFL Players Association, has died at the age of 63.

Per the report, Upshaw had been fighting pancreatic cancer.

Upshaw’s condition not been publicly known, and it’s unclear whether others at the NFLPA were aware of the illness, which is one of the most serious forms of cancer. 

It’s also unknown whether the disease had developed recently, or whether Upshaw became afflicated with it months ago.

It’s a shocking development, to say the least.  In recent months, Upshaw had indicated a desire to stay on the job through the completion of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiations, which became a focal point for the league and the union in May of this year, when owners voted to end the current CBA two years early.

Upshaw also has been criticized for his refusal to allow the NFLPA to identify his successor, out of fears that the league would then undermine him by working directly with the successor as to key terms of the CBA. 

But now the NFLPA by all appearances will be thrust into disarray, with a power vacuum only two weeks from the start of the 2008 regular season.