How these Alabama football alumni are giving back to their communities
The NFL pays dividends. So some players are giving back to the communities that invested in them.
March 24, 2021
Alabama football under Nick Saban has produced dozens of NFL standouts. Some are using their gains to give back to causes that hit close to home.
Playing in the NFL is an extremely lucrative profession. The minimum salary is $610,000 and the average is $2.7 million. Players like Tua Tagovalioa and Jonathan Allen are on multi-year, multi-million dollar deals.
The majority of these athletes from Alabama did not grow up in prosperity. Some faced extreme struggles, such former Alabama running back Josh Jacobs, who was homeless for a period of time before coming to Alabama. To many former athletes, giving back to the community to prevent the same tragedies they witnessed or faced is important.
Former Alabama defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson lost his father to cancer at five years old. He has since made it a priority to become an ambassador to the American Cancer Society. Tomlinson partners with the NFL’s “Crucial Catch” initiative to combat cancer. Tomlinson was recognized for charities like that and partnered with the Newark Police Department to talk to high school students to talk about the importance of academics.
“Being from the South, being from Georgia, you always want to give back and help as many people as possible,” Tomilinson said. “My mom raised me to help out as much as you can, when you can.”
Revered Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovalioa just entered into the NFL last season and is already giving back to his hometown in Hawaii. Tagovailoa set up a $300,000 scholarship fund to make college more affordable for students from Saint Louis School in Honolulu.
“My hope is that these scholarships will give deserving Hawai’i students the same opportunities Saint Louis School gave me,” Tagovailoa said in a statement. “It is a blessing to honor my family and high school through this gift.”
Jonathan Allen has become a dominant force on and off the field since he was drafted by the Washington Football team in 2017. Allen partnered with Sasha Bruce Youthwork to help end homelessness for youth. Last year Allen donated meals to 85 families in the Sasha Bruce community and gave $45,000 to the Rapid Response initiative, which provides emergency services to homeless youth.
Allen went through the foster care system and wants to ensure no child will have to worry about finding a home to stay.
“I am very passionate about making an impact on their lives and being a resource for them moving forward,” Allen said after his donation. “I hope to continue to be a positive example that these kids can follow and see that it’s not impossible to come out of any situation and be successful.”
Former Alabama offensive lineman Bradley Bozeman immediately started the Bradley and Nikki Bozeman Foundation after he was drafted in 2018. Bozeman partnered with former Maryland state senator Robert Zirkin to create anti-bullying legislation. The Bozeman family visited over 11,000 kids in Maryland over the 2018-19 seasons.
“It’s about going in and trying to make some kinds of change in these kids’ lives and letting them know what you see on the internet isn’t’ always the most important thing about you,” Bozeman said. “It’s about what you think about yourself and how you think and believe in who you are.”
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