NFL Honors will Recognize Award Recipient
The NFL and USAA, an Official NFL Salute to Service Partner, announced Baltimore Ravens Legend JARRET JOHNSON, Chicago Bears Tight End JIMMY GRAHAM, and Denver Broncos Fullback/Tight End ANDREW BECK as finalists for the eleventh annual Salute to Service Awardpresented by USAA.
Johnson, Graham, and Beck demonstrated exceptional effort to honor and support members of the military community. The Salute to Service Award recipient will be recognized at NFL Honors, a primetime awards show airing live Thursday, Feb. 10 at 9:00 p.m. ET on ABC from the YouTube Theater in Los Angeles.
“From advocacy and support to our currently serving military to ensuring our veterans successfully transition with employment after their service as well as supporting military children, all three finalists for the eleventh annual ‘Salute to Service Award presented by USAA’ should be recognized for their commitment to America’s military community,” said Vice Admiral (Ret.) JOHN BIRD, USAA Senior Vice President of Military Affairs. We thank and deeply appreciate Jarret, Jimmy, and Andrew for joining USAA in always honoring and serving our military, veterans, and their families, and encourage all Americans to follow their lead in participating in acts of service and support for our military.”
The Salute to Service Award is part of USAA and the NFL’s year-round commitment to recognize and honor the military community. This season, NFL clubs nominated coaches, active and retired players, and team executives and personnel, who best demonstrated support for the military community.
USAA will contribute $25,000 in the award recipient’s honor to the official aid societies representing each of the military branches. The NFL will match USAA’s donation of $25,000, which will be donated to the award recipient’s military charity of choice. The award recipient will receive a specially designed military challenge coin, recognizing their commitment to the military. In what has become a long-standing tradition, challenge coins are presented to members of the military community to inspire excellence, boost morale or to recognize a fellow brother or sister-in-arms.
The NFL announced nominees in November and the submissions were evaluated by a panel of judges, including last year’s award recipient, Atlanta Falcons/AMB Sports and Entertainment CEO STEVE CANNON. Nominees’ credentials are evaluated based on the positive effect of the individual’s efforts on the military community, the type of service conducted, the thoroughness of the program and level of commitment.
The panel of judges, consisting of representatives from the U.S. military, the NFL and USAA, includes:
- VICE ADMIRAL JOHN BIRD (Ret.), U.S. Navy veteran, USAA Senior Vice President of Military Affairs
- LENNY BANDY, U.S. Marine Corps Veteran and NFL Vice President of Security
- CHAD HENNINGS, Air Force Academy graduate, three-time Super Bowl champion
- DONNIE EDWARDS, NFL Legend and 2019 Salute to Service Award recipient
- JIM MORA, SR., Marine Corps veteran, former NFL head coach
- STEVE CANNON, CEO, AMB Sports & Entertainment (Atlanta Falcons) and 2020 Salute to Service Award recipient
Since 2011, USAA has used its sponsorship to honor and appreciate active-duty military, veterans and their families by creating unique opportunities that bring the military community and the NFL closer together.
Below is an overview on the three finalists. To learn more about the Salute to Service Award presented by USAA, please visit www.nfl.com/salute.
JARRET JOHNSON (NFL Legend, Baltimore Ravens)
As an active player, and certainly since his retirement from the NFL in 2015, Ravens Legend, Jarret Johnson has demonstrated a constant commitment to honoring military men, women and their families. With the goal to employ veterans, Johnson recently partnered with a service-disabled Air Force veteran to start a Black Rifle Coffee franchise in Niceville, Florida. The franchise employs over 40 veterans, active-duty servicemen and women, veterans’ spouses and children of military members from all around the world. Johnson is an annual sponsor of SOF Missions, a 501c(3) non-profit that provides care to veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) with the goal of ending veteran suicide. He organized, sponsored and participated in “The Murph Crossfit Exercise” on Memorial Day 2021. The workout consisted of a 1-mile run, 100 pullups, 200 pushups and 300 air squats, followed by another 1-mile run, all while wearing a 25-pound weighted vest. The event had over 300 participants and raised nearly $15,000 for the EOD Warrior Foundation and Pipe Hitter Foundation. This event, originally started in Johnson’s backyard, has grown into a large community-wide activation. Recently, he also welcomed other former NFL players including Philip Rivers, Nick Hardwick, Jeremy Clary, Haloti Ngata, Marshal Yanda and Brian Madison to participate in the event. The players spoke with special operations members about the transition from the service, which poses similar challenges for NFL players as they leave the sport. Johnson regularly provides leadership development and positive motivation to the Army’s 7th Special Forces Group (SFG) through various speaking engagements, basic range shooting events, fishing trips, veteran family cookouts and frequent participation in grueling physical workouts with Special Forces A-teams. In May, he completed the 2nd Annual 7th SFG Savage Loop ultramarathon, a 43-mile run around the Choctawhatchee Bay in the Niceville-Destin-Fort Walton Beach area of Florida. Johnson has also invited several former NFL players to attend and speak to senior Special Forces members at a leadership retreat hosted by the Army’s 6th Ranger Training Battalion at Camp Rudder, Florida.
JIMMY GRAHAM (Tight End, Chicago Bears)
Jimmy Graham continues to focus his giving on support for the men and women who serve and have served in the United States military, as he has done throughout his NFL career. The mission of The Jimmy Graham Foundation is to provide life-changing and impactful experiences through the freedom of flight, to recognize the accomplishments and sacrifices of veterans of all eras and provide flights for unfamiliar and underprivileged youth as an introduction to aviation. Jimmy takes veterans up in his two US Army aircraft restorations – a 1957 de Havilland Beaver and 1967 UH1 Iroquois “Huey” helicopter. The Huey served as a part of the 170th Assault Helicopter Company. Both aircraft fought in the Vietnam War, and they are the cornerstone of his giving back to our country. This past year The Jimmy Graham Foundation provided over 50 rides to veterans in South Florida. A particularly special flight was with Tee Sifford, a pilot and Purple Heart veteran from the Vietnam War. The Jimmy Graham Foundation has also partnered with Luna Cafe in Wisconsin to sell the “Huey Blend” coffee, which supports The Jimmy Graham Foundation -. Additionally, he donated tickets to each 2021 Bears home game for the Bears’ Boeing Military Salute honoree. During every game, an extraordinary service member is recognized in-game and then enjoys watching the Bears from seats, compliments of Jimmy. He also donated to cover the costs of all 250 Thanksgiving boxes distributed to veterans supported by Midwest Veterans Closet at a November event with the Bears and included notes that he personally signed. It is an honor for the Bears to recognize Jimmy for his continued commitment to the military community and nominate him for the NFL Salute to Service Award.
ANDREW BECK (Fullback/Tight End, Denver Broncos)
Denver Broncos tight end Andrew Beck’s dedication to serving the military became evident soon after joining the organization during the 2019 season. Over the past three years, he has partnered with America’s Gold Star Families, Buckley Space Force Base, Fort Carson Army Base, Freedom Service Dogs, TAPS (Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors), USO Colorado, VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System, Volunteers of America: Colorado and Wounded Warrior Project. In total, he’s reached more than 425 military families through his strategic outreach. Despite cancellations, protocols and restrictions, Beck refused to let the pandemic impact his commitment to support the military. In November of 2020, he assembled Salute to Service care packages for military bases across Colorado and helped host a virtual visit with Wounded Warrior Project veterans. During the 2021 offseason, Beck participated in a virtual visit with Buckley Space Force Base and USO Colorado to celebrate WingMan Week, a program dedicated to strengthening connection, relaxation, and the rejuvenation of the fighting spirit. While volunteering at a Salute to Service PLAY 60 Clinic in 2019, Beck learned that kids drove from Fort Carson Army Base in Colorado Springs. Beck’s face immediately lit up, as he had played high school football in the area while his dad, Chris, a colonel in the U.S. Army, was stationed at the same base. Beck knows firsthand the sacrifices military families make to serve our nation. That is why he hosted a barbeque for Fort Carson military families in partnership with USO Colorado, and helped host a pizza party and game night for kids at the Buckley Space Force Base Youth Center. He chose to represent America’s Gold Star Families for My Cause My Cleats in 2019 and 2020, auctioning off his cleats to raise funds to sponsor America’s Gold Star Families annual 5K Run/1 Mile Walk for Fallen Heroes. In 2021, Beck expanded his support for the military by partnering with Freedom Service Dogs of America on multiple initiatives. For My Cause My Cleats, Beck supported Freedom Service Dogs’ Operation Freedom program, which helps veterans and active-duty military find a new level of confidence and independence with the help of specially trained service dogs. In addition to auctioning his cleats to raise funds for the program, Beck has volunteered multiple times over the past few months with Freedom Service Dogs to meet with veterans paired with service dogs and help socialize puppies for future therapy and service dog placement.
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USAA
Founded in 1922 by a group of military officers, USAA is among the leading providers of insurance, banking and investment and retirement solutions to 13 million members of the U.S. military, veterans who have honorably served and their families. Headquartered in San Antonio, USAA has offices in seven U.S. cities and three overseas locations and employs more than 37,000 people worldwide. Each year, the company contributes to national and local nonprofits in support of military families and communities where employees live and work. For more information about USAA, follow us on Facebook or Twitter (@USAA), or visit usaa.com.
