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Tag: award

George Kittle recipient of NFL’s Salute to Service Award amid $250K in donations to military nonprofits

San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle has been named the recipient of the NFL’s Salute to Service Award.

The award was first given out in 2012 as part of the NFL’s and USAA’s commitment to recognize and honor the military and veteran community.

Kittle hosts military members for every Niners home game, donating over 400 tickets over the last six seasons. He and his family created an app to offer free mental health services for veterans.

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George Kittle, #85 of the San Francisco 49ers, reacts during the second quarter against the Kansas City Chiefs during Super Bowl LVIII at Allegiant Stadium on Feb. 11, 2024 in Las Vegas. (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

Kittle has also donated over $250,000 to military nonprofits and further highlighted military organizations through My Cause My Cleats.

“I am incredibly thankful and honored to be this year’s Salute to Service Award recipient. This is my fourth time being nominated by the 49ers, which is an absolute honor because it’s important to me to show gratitude and support to the military,” Kittle said in a statement. “My appreciation for the military stems from watching my Uncle Pat serve multiple tours with the National Guard and seeing firsthand how much it impacted him and his family while he was overseas.

“Without my family and their unwavering support, I would not be able to create these genuine and authentic relationships with the real heroes and the ones who should be receiving this award, the active-duty members, Veterans, TAPS and families that have lost loved ones in the line of fire. The support you see for the military around the league is so important and the fact that guys on every team do it, not just the nominees, is awesome. We are allowed to live the lives we live here because of the sacrifices they make, so we’re just trying to honor them, show our support, and share as much love as we can.”

George Kittle sits in the audience at WrestleMania 39 at SoFi Stadium on April 1, 2023 in Inglewood, California. (Unique Nicole/Getty Images)

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Kittle was one of the three finalists, besting Minnesota Vikings running back Aaron Jones and Los Angeles Chargers defensive end Morgan Fox.

Jones grew up in a military household; his father, Alvin, served 29 years in the Army, while his mother, Vurgess, served for 27. Jones’ older brother, Xavier, serves in the Air Force. Jones and his twin brother Alvin Jr., founded the A&A All the Way Foundation in 2020 to support the youth of military families.

Fox also grew up in a military community and donated 100 tickets to veterans. He has hosted members of the Wounded Warrior Project at Chargers practices.

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Super Bowl LIX will be streamed on Tubi. (Tubi)

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Kittle will be recognized at the NFL Honors on Thursday, where the MVP, Offensive and Defensive Players and Rookies, and Coach of the Year will also be crowned.

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February 5, 2025
Former NFL star Cam Newton says he wouldn’t trade MVP award for Super Bowl win

Former NFL star quarterback Cam Newton knows his take isn’t popular, but said it anyway.

Stephen A. Smith asked Newton if he would trade his 2015 NFL MVP award for a Super Bowl win during ESPN’s “First Take” on Thursday.

“No,” Newton promptly responded.

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Former Auburn and NFL star Cam Newton stands on the sidelines during the Cricket Celebration Bowl game between Florida A&M University and Howard University at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Dec. 16, 2023. (IMAGN)

“Really? Wow,” Smith said, surprised by Newton’s response.

Newton posed a question to help explain his unexpected answer.

“Because you have to ask it through this lens. That was a very journalistic viewpoint/vantage point, response Stephen A. I’ll ask you this question, and just to pose this thought: what’s more important, impact or championships?” Newton said.

“You look at a guy like Allen Iverson, ‘You stood up on the table and rararara,’ everybody is not going to be Michael Jordan, everybody is not going to be Patrick Mahomes, everybody is not going to be those individuals who have the luxury of saying, ‘Hey, I not only dominated this sport, but I also have championships to back it.’”

Newton won the MVP award in 2015 when he led the Carolina Panthers to a 15-1 regular season record and went all the way to the Super Bowl before losing to the Denver Broncos 24-10.

To further support his argument, Newton then began to cite quarterbacks who weren’t MVP-caliber players but won the Super Bowl.

“Like, let me remind you, Brad Johnson won a Super Bowl, Trent Dilfer won a Super Bowl, respectfully, Nick Foles won a Super Bowl. So, yes, when you look at those guys, and you say what’s more important, would you have preferred to win a Super Bowl?” Newton said.

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Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton yells “I’m back!” after scoring a rushing touchdown against the Arizona Cardinals in a game in 2021. (IMAGN)

“I think that that’s the humble approach, but if we’re being honest, the impact of you holding yourself accountable is to say everybody has a responsibility to do. And you can say as an MVP award winner or an All-American, you’ve held yourself or you’ve held your end of the bargain down.”

For Newton, he said he would prefer the MVP award to the Super Bowl because it told him that he did his job.

“And that’s what it really comes down to for me, I know that’s not the popular pick, I’m not trying to be popularized. But my take is, I’m taking individual success because I did my job. Football is not about one guy trying to do 11 jobs, it’s 11 guys doing one job and if everybody does their job best, famous words of our coach Belichick: ‘Just do your job.’”

If the Panthers had won Super Bowl L against the Broncos, Newton would have joined an exclusive list of quarterbacks to win both the MVP and the Super Bowl in the same season.

For Newton, he would prefer to keep the MVP instead of winning the Super Bowl.

Mahomes and Jalen Hurts are playing in Super Bowl LIX, but neither of them is up for the MVP award this season.

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Super Bowl LIX will be streamed on Tubi. (Tubi)

In 2022, however, Mahomes won the MVP and the Super Bowl, while Hurts was the runner-up in the MVP race and lost the Super Bowl to the Chiefs.

The Chiefs will take on the Eagles in Super Bowl LIX at 6:30 p.m. ET on Feb. 9 on FOX.

FOX’s coverage of Super Bowl LIX will begin at 1 p.m. ET. Coverage can also be streamed live on Tubi for the first time ever.

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Ryan Canfield is a digital production assistant for Fox News Digital.

January 30, 2025
Bills star Dion Dawkins says there should be a ‘Protector of the Year’ award for offensive linemen

Buffalo Bills offensive tackle Dion Dawkins wants offensive linemen to start getting some recognition.

While the offensive linemen are named to the Pro Bowl and the All-Pro teams, there currently is not an offensive lineman of the year award or anything of that ilk.

“Offensive linemen don’t have awards for being great. There’s not a ‘Protector of the Year’ award. I’m knocking on so many doors now to get this award going. I’m gonna head spear it and make sure this gets done before I’m done playing,” Dawkins said during his press conference on Thursday.

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Stream the Super Bowl LIX for free on Tubi. (Tubi)

“Because there’s so many greats. So many greats. We have great quarterbacks, we have great running backs, we have rushing titles, we have quarterback passing titles. All of those titles are reflections of the O-lineman, which are the protectors.”

At the college level, offensive linemen are recognized with numerous different awards.

The Lombardi Award is awarded to the best college football lineman of the year, tight end or linebacker. This season, it was awarded to Texas Longhorn left tackle Kelvin Banks Jr.

The Outland Trophy is given to the best interior lineman both on the offensive and defensive side of the ball. Banks also won that award this season.

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Buffalo Bills offensive tackle Dion Dawkins, #73, leaves the field after winning a game against the San Francisco 49ers to clinch the AFC East title at Highmark Stadium. (Mark Konezny-Imagn Images)

The Rimington Trophy is awarded to the best center, which was given to Ohio State Buckeye’s star center Seth McLaughlin.

The NFL awards the MVP, Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year, Walter Payton Man of the Year, Comeback Player of the Year, and Offensive and Defensive Rookie of the Year.

The only award offensive linemen have a realistic chance of winning is Walter Payton Man of the Year, an award given for acts of service to the community, which is an off-the-field award.

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Buffalo Bills Dion Dawkins, #73, blocks for quarterback Josh Allen, who sneaks in for a touchdown, during first half action in the Buffalo Bills divisional game against the Baltimore Ravens at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, New York, on Jan. 19, 2025. (IMAGN)

Dawkins has spent all eight seasons of his career with the Bills, which will be put the test this weekend when the Bills take on the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship.

Dawkins, a four-time Pro Bowler, will be tasked with stopping star defensive lineman Chris Jones, George Karlaftis, Leo Chenal and others who will try to pursue Josh Allen.

The Bills and Chiefs are set to play at 6:30 p.m. ET on Sunday.

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Ryan Canfield is a digital production assistant for Fox News Digital.

January 24, 2025