A Monetary Donation in the Name of the Fan-Determined Winners Will be Given as Part of the Commitment by FedEx to Provide More Than $100,000 to Historically Black Colleges and Universities Throughout the 2023-24 Season
NEW YORK –– Jan. 11, 2024 –– The National Football League and FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) announced today quarterbacks Dak Prescott (Dallas Cowboys), Brock Purdy (San Francisco 49ers) and Tua Tagovailoa (Miami Dolphins) are the finalists for the 2023 FedEx Air NFL Player of the Year honors, while running backs Christian McCaffrey (San Francisco 49ers), Raheem Mostert (Miami Dolphins) and Kyren Williams (Los Angeles Rams) are the finalists for the 2023 FedEx Ground NFL Player of the Year.
In the weeks leading up to Super Bowl LVIII, fans have the chance to cast their vote for the one quarterback and one running back they feel had the season’s best Air & Ground performances. Today through Feb. 7 at 6 p.m. ET, fans can cast their vote for each category at nfl.com/fedex, via an X poll on the @NFL official handle, Instagram stories on Jan.11, Jan. 16 and Jan. 23 on the @NFL official handle, or the NFL Mobile App.
For 21 years, FedEx has recognized the NFL quarterbacks and running backs voted by fans each week to be delivering the best performances for their fans and teammates each season. You can help celebrate these standout performances by voting for the FedEx Air & Ground NFL Players of the Year.
During the 2023-24 NFL regular season, FedEx worked with the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF), the largest organization exclusively representing the Black College community, to identify Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) across the country to receive donations to support needs-based scholarships through the 2024-25 school year. Each week of the regular season, a $2,000 donation was made in the name of the winning quarterback and running back (for a total of $4,000). This season, the six (6) nominees for the FedEx Air & Ground NFL Players of the Year Awards have already raised a combined $26,000.
To celebrate the FedEx Air & Ground NFL Players of the Year, FedEx will donate $20,000 each to the HBCU colleges selected by the winning quarterback and running back. Similar to the regular season donations, the $40,000 donation will help support needs-based scholarships for students attending one of TMCF’s 47 publicly-supported HBCUs. For the year, more than $100,000 will be granted among these select HBCUs to support student scholarships.
FedEx will announce the 2023 FedEx Air & Ground NFL Players of the Year winners at NFL Honors presented by Invisalign, a two-hour primetime awards special to air nationally on Thursday, Feb. 8 from 9-11 p.m. ET (6-8 p.m. PT) on CBS and NFL Network from Resorts World Theatre in Las Vegas, Nev.
For more information, visit nfl.com/fedex or follow the conversation on X at @NFL. Learn how FedEx is creating opportunities with HBCUs throughout the U.S. at fedexcares.com.
A closer look at the FedEx Air NFL Player of the Year finalists:
- Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott finished the season leading the league in touchdown passes (36), ranked second with passer rating (105.9) and completion percentage (69.5), and third in passing yards (4,516). Prescott had 10 games with at least 250 passing yards and multiple touchdown passes and six games with at least three touchdown passes, both the most in the NFL this season. He became the first quarterback in NFL history with four games in a season with a completion percentage of 80-or-higher (minimum 30 attempts in each game).
- San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy led the NFL in passer rating (113.0), ranked third in touchdown passes (31), fourth in completion percentage (69.4) and fifth in passing yards (4,280), despite only playing 16 games this season. Purdy had eight games with a passer rating of 120-or-higher this season and became the fifth player ever to record a passer rating of 120-or-higher in eight-or-more games in a season. He also had six games with a passer rating of 130-or-higher this season, tied for the most such games in a season in NFL history.
- Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa led the league in passing yards (4,624), becoming the second player in franchise history with 4,500 passing yards in a season. Tagovailoa had five games with at least 300 passing yards, tied for the third-most this season, and four games with at least three touchdown passes, the fourth-most in the NFL this season. He was also one of four quarterbacks to have multiple receivers with at least 1,000 receiving yards this season.
A closer look at the FedEx Ground NFL Player of the Year finalists:
- San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey led the league with a career-high 1,459 rushing yards while ranking second among running backs with 14 rushing touchdowns. McCaffrey recorded seven games with at least 100 rushing yards, a career- and league-best this season. He became the third player in NFL history to record at least 2,000 scrimmage yards in a season for two franchises after totaling 2,023 yards this season and 2,392 yards in 2019 with Carolina.
- Miami Dolphins running back Raheem Mostert finished the season leading the league with a career-high and franchise record 18 rushing touchdowns. Mostert had six games with multiple rushing touchdowns this season, the most in the NFL. His 21 scrimmage touchdowns were the third-most by an undrafted player in a season since 1967.
- Los Angeles Rams running back Kyren Williams ranked third with 1,144 rushing yards and tied for fifth among running backs with 12 rushing touchdowns in the NFL, despite only playing 12 games this season. He recorded six games with at least 100 rushing yards, the second-most this season, and had four games with at least 100 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown, tied for the second-most. In Week 12, Williams recorded 143 rushing yards, 61 receiving yards and two touchdown receptions and became the fourth player in NFL history with at least 140 rushing yards, 60 receiving yards and two touchdown receptions in a game.
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