Broncos Named 2022 Humanitarian Team of Year

The Broncos are getting off to an early start.

This year’s Denver Broncos squad is expected to bring back the grid-iron hardware to the Mile High City, and are already winning awards off the field.

On Tuesday, ESPN awarded the 2022 Sports Humanitarian Team of the Year Award to the Broncos. The annual honor is presented to a professional sports franchise that “demonstrates how teamwork can create a measurable impact on a community or cause.”

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The Broncos' community outreach was evaluated based on their community teamwork and success of player-led philanthropy and volunteer initiatives. According to the team’s official press release, “the Broncos are one of two NFL teams to ever win the award (San Francisco 49ers, 2017) and only one of three organizations to be named a finalist three or more times.”

“It’s a tremendous accomplishment to even be recognized as a finalist and an incredible honor to be named the winner of ESPN’s Sports Humanitarian Team of the Year Award,” said Broncos' vice president of community development Allie Engelken.“This award is a culmination of adjusting to the immediate needs of our community while deepening our commitment to the long-term strategic programming we have in place. We were fortunate enough to accomplish some truly impactful feats during the 2020-21 seasons, and we hope to build on that for years to come.”

Broncos players have volunteered more than 900 hours in 745 engagements and contributed over $275,000 for Inspire Change programs in 2022 alone. The Broncos are also the only professional sports team to fully fund its own branch of Boys & Girls Clubs of America, giving 14,500-plus under-resourced youth a home away from home since 2003.

Other finalists for the award were the NBA’s Miami Heat, NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins, and WNBA’s Seattle Storm.

You can catch the Orange and Blue featured on the dually programmed ESPYs, and Sports Humanitarian Awards live this Wednesday at 6 p.m. MT. 

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