Former NFL star Aaron Hernandez, who was serving a life sentence for murder and just days ago acquitted of a separate double murder, died after hanging himself in his prison cell yesterday morning.

Hernandez, 27, was found by guards in his cell at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center in Massachusetts just after 3am, prison officials said.

The former New England Patriots tight end was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.

Henandez reportedly tried to jam the door of his one-bed cell in the maximum security prison.

Hernandez was jailed for life in 2015 after being found guilty of murdering a friend, Odin Lloyd.

Hernandez’s death came the same day the Patriots made their visit to the White House to mark their Super Bowl win.