Dak Prescott, Khalil Mack, Bobby Wagner. Those are just three of the most recognizable 32 NFL superstars that have earned a nomination for the 2023 Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award, announced by the league on Thanksgiving's Eve.
Each franchise gets one player added to the initial shortlist, and the member picked off the Baltimore Ravens roster was veteran right guard Kevin Zeitler, now in his 12th season of NFL play after spending time in Cincinnati, Cleveland, and New York before landing in Baltimore back in 2021.
There are two other nominees with Baltimore roots, those being C.J. Mosley (New York Jets) and Kyle Juszczyk (San Francisco 49ers).
.@kzeit70 is our 2023 nominee for the Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award❗ pic.twitter.com/kt0mPxL3B6
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) November 22, 2023
"Sportsmanship is the core of the game, the vanguard of public confidence, the keeper of game integrity," said Troy Vincent, NFL executive VP of football operations. "These Rooney Sportsmanship Award nominees exemplify the spirit of fair play and the values of respect, integrity, commitment to team, and resiliency at the highest level of competition."
Now that the 32 players are known, a panel of former players will select the final eight nominees that will fight for the award. There will be four AFC players and four NFC contenders among those eight finalists.
Finally, players from all 32 franchises will cast a vote for their favorite in December, with the only rule of not being allowed to vote for their teammate. Each franchise will submit a single, consensus vote after the players of said team agree on a selection.
The recipient of the award will be revealed during the NFL Honors ceremony and granted a $25,000 donation from the NFL Foundation to a charity of their choosing.
A member of the Baltimore Ravens organization has won the award once, last year in fact, when Calais Campbell was named the recipient of the 2022 9th Art Rooney Award by the NFL before signing with the Atlanta Falcons last spring.
2023 Art Rooney Sportmanship Award Nominees
- Budda Baker, Arizona Cardinals
- Maxx Crosby, Las Vegas Raiders
- Jake Matthews, Atlanta Falcons
- Khalil Mack, Los Angeles Chargers
- Kevin Zeitler, Baltimore Ravens
- Jordan Fuller, Los Angeles Rams
- Mitch Morse, Buffalo Bills
- Durham Smythe, Miami Dolphins
- Adam Thielen, Carolina Panthers
- Danielle Hunter, Minnesota Vikings
- T.J. Edwards, Chicago Bears
- David Andrews, New England Patriots
- Tyler Boyd, Cincinnati Bengals
- Erik McCoy, New Orleans Saints
- Joel Bitonio, Cleveland Browns
- Bobby Okereke, New York Giants
- Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys
- C.J. Mosley, New York Jets
- Lloyd Cushenberry III, Denver Broncos
- Fletcher Cox, Philadelphia Eagles
- Taylor Decker, Detroit Lions
- Larry Ogunjobi, Pittsburgh Steelers
- Aaron Jones, Green Bay Packers
- Kyle Juszczyk, San Francisco 49ers
- Robert Woods, Houston Texans
- Bobby Wagner, Seattle Seahawks
- DeForest Buckner, Indianapolis Colts
- Chris Godwin, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Foyesade Oluokun, Jacksonville Jaguars
- Morgan Cox, Tennessee Titans
- Trent McDuffie, Kansas City Chiefs
- Logan Thomas, Washington Commanders