Denver Broncos News

Mike Purcell announced as Broncos’ nominee for the USAA Salute to Service Award

By Taylor Kothe@tkothe_nfl Nov 5, 2022, 4:00am MDT

When the cleats come off, involvement in charities is often the most visible way that NFL players interact with their community. High profile players often create their own organizations to help out in areas near to their heart- Von Miller’s Von’s Vision, for example, or Justin Simmons’ Justin Simmons Foundation- that have great impacts within the communities they serve.

But players can have a big impact even without running a charity of their own. And it’s a great element of this interplay between the NFL and charitable work that we often get to see less well known guys get recognized for their contributions. The Denver Broncos’ announcement of Mike Purcell as the team’s nominee for the 2022 USAA Salute to Service Award is a perfect example of that.

We’re proud to announce that @m_purcell64 has been named our 2022 @USAA #SaluteToService nominee.

RT to join us in congratulating him on this tremendous honor!

» https://t.co/6C7YJfGC5l pic.twitter.com/fEQWtf5P7Q
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) November 4, 2022

Purcell, currently in his 4th season as a Bronco, has continuously chosen the Wounded Warrior Project as the charity featured on his cleats for the My Cause My Cleats campaign. In addition to sporting the cleats on the field, he makes appearances each year at meetings of various veterans’ organizations to thank them for their service and share the cleats. He also participates in initiatives like WingMan Week virtual visits and the USAA Salute to Service caravan.

Once the cleats have been featured, Purcell hold an auction for them to benefit the Wounded Warrior Project, matching the final bid. Over the first 3 years of that effort, he’s raised over $3,310 to help WWP honor and empower wounded veterans.

Purcell joins a great list of other Broncos recognized for their efforts to support our service men and women, including last year’s USAA Salute to Service Award winner, fullback/tight end Andrew Beck.

This year, fans get the opportunity to help choose the 3 2022 USAA Salute to Service Award finalists by voting for their favorite nominee at NFL.com/SaluteFanVote. Voting is open now, and will continue until Wednesday, November 30th.