The Phinsider
On Wednesday morning, the nominees for the 2025 Art Rooney Sportmanship Award were released for all 32 teams in the National Football League. Miami’s nominee was defensive tackle Zach Sieler.
The Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award is given each year to a player who demonstrates outstanding sportsmanship on the field including fair play, respect for opponents, and integrity in competition. This award is voted on by NFL players.
The winner receives the recognition, but also a $25,000 donation from the NFL Foundation to a charity of that player’s choice.
The Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award has been around since 2014 when Larry Fitzgerald of the Arizona Cardinals was the first recipient. Since then, ten more players have been recognized, yet no Dolphins players have walked away with the hardware as of yet. Two Carolina Panthers players have won the award — linebacker Luke Kuechly in 2017 and quarterback Teddy Bridgewater in 2020.
Last year, Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was nominated for the award, however Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen was the league-wide winner. In 2023, former Dolphins tight end Durham Smythe was the team’s nominee, while in 2022, fullback Alec Ingold got the nod for Miami.
