Buffalo Bills Safety Damar Hamlin Announced as the Winner of NFLPA’s Alan Page Community Award

As he continues to recover from suffering a cardiac arrest while playing in front of a live audience on national television, Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin has gotten more good news. The defensive player was announced as the NFL Players Association’s winner of the 2023 Alan Page Community Award.

The award is the NFLPA’s highest honor. Every year, the Alan Page Community Award acknowledges one NFL player who demonstrates a dedication so deep that it positively impacts his team’s city and communities across the country. The award was named after Pro Football Hall of Famer Alan Page.

“Being recognized for the NFLPA Alan Page Community Award is humbling and a dream come true,” Hamlin said in a written statement. “I’m humbled to even be mentioned amongst those guys. I’ve always wanted to impact my community and show that it’s possible to do great things. With this award, we’ll be able to impact even more people and keep this mission going.”

Along with being acknowledged for his contributions with this award, the NFLPA will also donate $100,000 to Hamlin’s Chasing M’s Foundation.

Hamlin was recognized by his fellow players, as each year’s winner is selected by their NFL peers.

Hamlin started the Chasing M’s Foundation through a GoFundMe page when the pandemic was gripping the world in 2020. He was still an NFL hopeful at the University of Pittsburgh at the time. He envisioned raising $2,500 for camps, toy drives, back-to-school events, as well as other initiatives to give back to the Pennsylvania community that helped raise him. The “M” stood for the “millions” of people, scholarships, and other avenues by which he hoped to make a difference.

In December, before his shocking health crisis, the safety played host to his third annual Community Toy Drive in Pittsburgh. After the near-death experience on January 2, donations totaling more than nine million dollars were made to his Chasing M’s Foundation.

The defensive player is currently recovering in hopes of returning back to the football field next season.