BEN ROETHLISBERGER'S PERSERVERANCE
ON AND OFF THE FIELD TO BE CELEBRATED AT
THE NFL PLAYERS GALA
FEATURING THE JB AWARDS ON APRIL 16
Roethlisberger among special JB Award recipients selected at the end of the season for his commitment to achieving excellence on and off the field
April 1, 2009 – WASHINGTON, D.C. - On Thursday, April 16, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterbackBen Roethlisbergerand 15 other of the NFL's biggest heroes will be honored at the NFL PLAYERS Gala featuring the JB Awards, an annual awards presentation hosted by the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) to benefit Special Olympics DC.
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For the sixth consecutive year, the NFLPA and NFL PLAYERS, its licensing and marketing arm, have partnered with James Brown of CBS Sports "The NFL Today" to recognize NFL players for their individual contributions to their communities with the JB Awards. As in years past, award winners will participate in a panel discussion and will mingle with guests prior to the dinner. These honored players from around the National Football League will also join local Special Olympics athletes for a football clinic, an annual event held the morning of the Gala.
At the age of 23, Roethlisberger became the youngest Super Bowl winning quarterback in history. Four years later, he led the Pittsburgh Steelers to a second Super Bowl title after orchestrating a fourth- quarter comeback against the Arizona Cardinals. Since being drafted by Pittsburgh in the first round in 2004, he has completed 1,189 passes and thrown for 14,974 yards and 101 touchdowns.
Roethlisberger currently ranks seventh all-time in NFL passer rating (89.4) and yards per attempt (7.86) among quarterbacks with a minimum of 15,000 career attempts.
Despite battling injuries throughout most of the 2008 season, "Big Ben" engineered six fourth-quarter comebacks, the one in Super Bowl XLIII helping solidify him as one of the most accomplished quarterbacks in NFL history. In last season's three playoff games, he completed 54 passes for 692 yards and three touchdowns, one of which was the game-winning touchdown pass to Santonio Holmes in the final 35 seconds of the Super Bowl.
After just five seasons in Pittsburgh, Roethlisberger's name is already written all over the record books. He currently leads the Steelers in passer rating, completion percentage, yards per attempt, 300-yard
passing games and 3,000-yard passing seasons. He is second in franchise history in passing touchdowns, passing yards, wins as a starting quarterback and games with a passer rating over 100.
A leader in every sense of the word, Roethlisberger established the Ben Roethlisberger Foundation to support two of his favorite causes. The organization has a local focus on enhancing the quality of life for residents of his hometown of Findlay, Ohio and Pittsburgh. Nationally, the foundation provides support for service dogs of police and fire departments.
Roethlisberger also sponsors the Giving Back Fund, a national non-profit organization dedicated to increasing philanthropy around the world through innovative programs and initiatives.
This year's honorees are:
| Gary Brackett,Indianapolis | Drew Brees, New Orleans | Isaac Bruce,San Francisco |
| Greg Camarillo, Miami | Rock Cartwright,Washington | Brian Dawkins,Philadelphia |
| Chris Draft, St. Louis | Larry Fitzgerald,Arizona | Joe Flacco,Baltimore |
| Mike Furrey,Detroit | Tony Pashos,Jacksonville | Clinton Portis,Washington |
| David Thornton, Tennessee | Kurt Warner, Arizona | Daniel Wilcox, Baltimore |
| Ben Roethlisberger,Pittsburgh *Teams listed are those that nominated the athletes | ||
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*About NFL PLAYERS:
Formed in 1994, NFL PLAYERS is the licensing and marketing subsidiary of the NFL Players Association. Representing more than 1,800 active and many memorable retired NFL players, NFL PLAYERS "takes the helmets off" the players and markets them as personalities as well as professional athletes. Through an exclusive sponsorship agreement between the organization and the NFL, players are integrated into NFL sponsor activation programs. In addition, under an exclusive agreement between NFL PLAYERS and the NFL, NFLPLAYERS.COM, the company's official Web site is part of the part of the NFL Internet Network. Each year NFL PLAYERS negotiates and facilitates extensive player marketing opportunities for players. NFL PLAYERS activities include retail licensing, corporate sponsorships and promotions, special events, radio and television projects, publishing and internet. For more information, please visit NFLPLAYERS.COM.
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