The Green Bay Packers announced this week that QB Jordan Love has been selected as their nominee for the Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award.
The award recognizes players who exhibit exceptional sportsmanship behaviors on the field such as “fair play, respect for the game and opponents, and integrity in competition,” according to Wes Hodkiewicz of Packers.com. The award, which was created in 2014, was named after the founder of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Pro Football Hall of Famer Art Rooney, Sr.
Each team submitted a nominee from their team and a panel from the NFL Legends Community will vote on the 8 finalists (4 from each conference) that will be added to this year’s Pro Bowlballot for players to vote on. This year the panel includes Warrick Dunn, Larry Fitzgerald (the award’s first winner), Pro Football Hall of Famer Curtis Martin and Leonard Wheeler.
This is Love’s first nomination for the award. Former Packers running back Aaron Jones had been the nominee for the last few years, and was even a finalist in the 2022 season. Interestingly enough, Jones is also the Minnesota Vikings’ nominee this year. No Packers player has won the award, although former Packers DB Charles Woodson did win back in 2015, but as a member of the Oakland Raiders.