08/10/2026
On August 12, 2017, a car drove into a crowd in Charlottesville, Virginia, killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer.
For Chris Long, the tragedy happened in the streets of the city where he grew up.
Most people posted their thoughts and moved on.
Long decided to do something completely different.
That year, he was playing for the Philadelphia Eagles on a $1 million base salary. His season was divided into 16 game checks worth roughly $50,000 each.
He gave away every single one.
His first six checks went to St. Anne’s-Belfield, the private school he had attended as a child. The money funded two full scholarships for Charlottesville students who otherwise could not afford to attend.
Then, on October 18, 2017, Long announced what he would do with the remaining ten checks.
He would donate them all to schools serving low-income students in three cities that had shaped his career: St. Louis, Boston, and Philadelphia.
By the end of the season, **16 checks had been earned—and none had been kept.**
And Long certainly wasn't someone who needed the money.
His father, Howie Long, was an NFL Hall of Famer. Chris had grown up comfortably, attended private school, and entered the NFL as the second overall pick in the 2008 draft.
He spent eight seasons with the St. Louis Rams before joining Philadelphia.
So why give away an entire year's salary?
The answer started years earlier.
In 2013, Long traveled to Tanzania and climbed Mount Kilimanjaro. During the trip, he met Joe Buck and Doug Pitt, who was working in the country on clean-water projects.
Long learned what the lack of clean water meant for families.
Women could spend hours every day walking for water—sometimes returning with water that wasn't even safe to drink.
The experience stayed with him.
In 2015, he launched **Waterboys**, with an ambitious goal: help fund 32 wells across Africa, one representing every NFL team.
The wells use deep-bore and solar-powered systems and can provide clean water to thousands of people.
Long later partnered with former Green Beret Nate Boyer to create **Conquering Kili**, bringing wounded combat veterans to Mount Kilimanjaro. Their climbs helped raise money for water projects.
Then came 2017.
While donating his NFL salary, Long also challenged fans to contribute through his **Pledge 10** campaign. He personally donated $450,000, while fans and other players contributed another $1.3 million.
That brought the campaign total to roughly **$1.75 million**.
And then came another unforgettable moment.
On February 4, 2018, the Philadelphia Eagles won their first Super Bowl.
Long became a champion with his second NFL team.
But he had spent the entire season giving away his game checks.
That same month, Waterboys reached its original goal of 32 wells.
In 2019, Long received the **Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award**, one of the league's highest honors for community service.
He retired from the NFL later that year after 11 seasons.
But the work continued.
Waterboys has since helped bring clean water to **more than 600,000 people**, with the organization now aiming to reach one million.
And in February 2026, at age 41, Long returned to Mount Kilimanjaro for his **tenth climb**.
Think about the story.
A wealthy kid with a famous father.
A second-overall NFL draft pick.
A player who earned millions during his career.
He never owed the world a thing.
Yet he gave away an entire season of NFL paychecks—and then kept going long after his playing career ended.
Somewhere, a child can turn on a tap instead of walking miles for water.
That child may never watch an NFL game.
They may never know Chris Long's name.
And perhaps that's exactly how he wanted it.
**Because the greatest acts of generosity aren't always about being remembered. They're about making sure someone else's life is better.**
