Many times we hear news of sportsmen and sportswomen taking a lot of their prize money to support one cause or the other relating to human needs, but for this Nigerian-American football player donating to help animals was all that mattered.
After the Kansas City Chiefs stormed back to win the Super Bowl LIV first time in 50 years, defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi celebrated the victory by paying off the adoption fees for every adoptable pet at a dog shelter costing over 5.9 million Naira.
In just his 2nd year in the NFL, Nnadi and the rest of his squad pulled off an inspiring victory against the San Francisco 49ers, winning 31-20 in their Super Bowl win.
The 23-year-old who attributes most of his success to qualities he learned from his Nigerian father, Fred who arrived in the U.S. in the 1960s, had to survive on 60,250 Naira a month for an entire year, something that inspired Derrick to work hard to where he’s now.
“My father is probably the most hard-working person I’ve met in my life,” Nnadi said.
Derrick the youngest of seven children, loved pets growing up especially dogs but his Parents didn’t like pets so he had to wait till his senior year of college. His relationship with his first dog, Rocky inspired him to help other animals.
KC Pet Project announced on Facebook that the star player paid off the adoption fees for every single adoptable dog at all of their locations and 109 dogs were linked up with new families at an average adoption fee of $150.
When Nnadi’s foundation and KC Pet Project started their partnership in September, Nnadi, who has two dogs of his own, was expected to pay off the adoption fee for a dog in the shelter, every time the Chiefs won a game.
Derrick is involved in many philanthropic endeavors and is committed to helping communities in both Kansas City and Virginia Beach, where Nnadi grew up.
Nnadi says his priority apart from winning awards was to make a change in the community by giving back, something that has been ingrained in him since college and its something he’s done selflessly.
After the 2019 mass shooting in Virginia Beach, he held a shopping spree for victims of the shooting, who lost their loved ones especially kids who had to return to school, he said ” while I was in Kansas City I was always thinking of ways I could help back home, so when the terrible attack happened I was like there’s something I can do for their families… So what came to mind was to do a Lil shopping spree for them for the school year.”
Total prize money of $250,000 will also be paid to the winning team players which include a 50 percent winning bonus. In the Super Bowl LIV all players, including active, inactive and players on injured reserve, earn $120,000.
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