A 25-year prison term has been handed out to the man who shot former Saints player Will Smith

For shooting and killing veteran NFL defensive end Will Smith in 2016, Cardell Hayes was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Thursday.

In relation with Smith's passing, Hayes has now received a sentence twice. The 36-year-old received a 25-year sentence after being found guilty of manslaughter in December of 2016. But the jury returned a vote of 10-2, and the conviction was overturned by the US Supreme Court because they had made it illegal for judgments to be less than unanimous.

Hayes completed more than four years of his initial sentence before being freed on bond. He was free for a number of retrials, but after the unanimous decision in January, he was placed under arrest.

In January 2024, a unanimous jury found Hayes guilty during a fresh trial.

In April 2016, Hayes rear-ended Smith's car, which led to an altercation between the two. During the altercation, Hayes fired eight shots at Smith, including seven to the back.

Throughout his ten-year NFL career, Smith was a member of the New Orleans Saints. He was 34 years old.