Upshaw was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1987 and is also the only player in NFL history to reach the Super Bowl with the same team in three different decades.

He was part of a particularly strong offensive line during the 1976 season, with interior linemates Dave Dalby at center and George Buehler at right guard.

He was the older brother of Marvin Upshaw, who was a defensive lineman with the Cleveland Browns, Kansas City Chiefs and St. Louis Cardinals.

Upshaw was an active member of the bargaining committee for the National Football League Players' Association (NFLPA) throughout the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Prior to his death, a campaign was allegedly being led by Ravens kicker Matt Stover to oust Gene Upshaw as head of the NFLPA; however, all parties have denied such a plan.

Stover along with a number of other players claim to have only been seeking a definite succession plan in order to avoid a drawn-out and messy transfer of power such as Upshaw's death has seen realized.

It is presented each year during the weekend of the NCAA Division II Football Championship by the Manheim (Pennsylvania) Touchdown Club.

In mid-August 2008 at his home in Lake Tahoe,[9] Upshaw began to feel ill. His wife Terri (née Buich) noticed that his breathing was labored, so she convinced him to go to the emergency room, where he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer on August 17.

[11] After his death, the NFL announced that all 32 teams would wear a patch on their jerseys with the initials "GU" and the number 63 for the opening weekend of the 2008 season.

[13][14] The case was settled out of court prior to the trial, but the facts of the case created more conflict between retired players and the NFLPA, with several prominent retired players/advocates lashing out at Upshaw and his family for a $15 million payment in his will and citing the large number of disabled and broke veterans who had no resources; however, the reporting also showed that the $15 million was a deferred payment from Upshaw's long tenure as the NFLPA head and the money was taken out of his salary during that time and served as a de facto pension separate from the issues that were causing controversy.