The Athletes in Action/Bart Starr Award is given annually to an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

player in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) who "best exemplifies outstanding character and leadership in the home, on the field, and in the community". The award is presented by

Athletes in Action Athletes in Action (AIA) is an American sports organization founded in 1966. It is the sports ministry of Cru Ministries, formerly known as Campus Crusade for Christ. History Athletes in Action was started in 1966 by Dave Hannah."Fact Sheet: ...

(AIA), a sports ministry associated with Cru (formerly known as Campus Crusade for Christ). It is awarded to the winner each year at the Super Bowl Breakfast, an NFL-sanctioned event that occurs the day before the

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...

. The nominee list is compiled by a group of individuals made-up of the Public Relations Directors of every NFL team, past award winners and AIA staff. The list is trimmed to 10 players, with the award winner chosen by AIA leadership and past award winners. However, some past awardees have been chosen by fellow NFL players after the initial list is trimmed down to 10. The award was first given at the second Super Bowl Breakfast in 1989.

Bart Starr Bryan Bartlett Starr (January 9, 1934 – May 26, 2019) was an American professional football quarterback and head coach for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Alabama Crimson T ...

, the

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

former quarterback of the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

, partnered with AIA to present the award that bears his name. Starr was selected by AIA because he was an "individual of impeccable character who has served his family and community faithfully through the years and is a role model for athletes and business people alike". Starr presented every award until 2015, when a stroke prevented him from attending the Super Bowl Breakfast anymore. Since 2015, former NFL coach

Tony Dungy Anthony Kevin Dungy ( ; born October 6, 1955) is an American former professional football safety and coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Indianapolis Colts ...

and Starr's son have presented the award in his honor.

Steve Largent Stephen Michael Largent (born September 28, 1954) is an American former professional football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports) ...

, the Hall of Fame former wide receiver for the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

, was the winner of the inaugural award in 1989. Since then, 37 NFL players have received the award. This includes Eugene Robinson, a

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

for the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

, who returned the award after being arrested the night he received it for soliciting sex from an undercover police officer. Historically, the award has only been given to one player a year, however in 1998, Irving Fryar and Brent Jones shared the award. The award has been given to one set of brothers ( Peyton and

Eli Manning Elisha Nelson Manning (born January 3, 1981) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons with the New York Giants. A member of the Manning family, he is the youngest ...

in 2015 and 2019 respectively) and one father and son ( Jackie and

Matthew Slater Matthew Wilson Slater (born September 9, 1985) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for 16 seasons with the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). A special teams player for most of his ...

in 1996 and 2017 respectively). The most recent awardee was Cameron Jordan,

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

for the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

, in 2025.

Award winners

Notes

* Winners are listed by the year the award was given, not by the season the player had just completed. *

safety Eugene Robinson won the award for the

1998 NFL season The 1998 NFL season was the 79th regular season of the National Football League (NFL). The season culminated with Super Bowl XXXIII, with the Denver Broncos defeating the Atlanta Falcons 34–19 at Pro Player Stadium in Miami. The Broncos ha ...

, but was arrested the evening he received the award in

Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, for soliciting a female undercover police officer who was posing as a prostitute. This occurred on the eve of the Falcons' game against the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

Super Bowl XXXIII Super Bowl XXXIII was an American football game played between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion and defending Super Bowl XXXII champion 1998 Denver Broncos season, Denver Broncos and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion ...

. Robinson later agreed to return the award. He is no longer listed on the AIA's list of award winners.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Athletes in Action Bart Starr Award NFL trophies and awards American humanitarian and service awards Awards established in 1989 1989 establishments in the United States

Award winners

Notes

See also

References