Teddy Bridgewater of the Carolina Panthers is the winner of the 2020 Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award, which recognizes the NFL player who best demonstrates the qualities of outstanding sportsmanship on the field, including fair play, respect for opponents and integrity in competition.
The award was founded in 2014 in honor of the late founding owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Pro Football Hall of Famer Art Rooney, Sr.
As part of the award, Bridgewater will receive a $25,000 donation from the NFL Foundation to a charity of his choice.
Each NFL team nominated one player for the award and a panel of former players from the NFL Legends Community, Warrick Dunn, Curtis Martin, Kark Mecklenburg and Leonard Wheeler, selected the eight finalists from the 32 NFL club nominees.
The finalists, featuring four players from each conference, were defensive end Calais Campbell (Baltimore), defensive tackle Cameron Heyward (Pittsburgh), defensive end Justin Houston (Indianapolis) and wide receiver Matthew Slater (New England) in the AFC, and Bridgewater, linebacker Lavonte David (Tampa Bay), center Jason Kelce (Philadelphia) and fullback Kyle Juszczyk (San Francisco) in the NFC. The finalists were then listed on the Pro Bowl ballot under the NFL Sportsmanship Award category. The winner of the Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award is determined by a vote of current NFL players.
Bridgewater took home the award in his first year as a finalist. Past recipients of the Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award are Adrian Peterson of the Detroit Lions (2019), Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints (2018) and Luke Kueckly of the Carolina Panthers (2017).
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