The National Football League and NFL Players Association will support October’s National Breast Cancer Awareness Month with its largest on-field presence including a second straight year of game-worn memorabilia auctions.
In collaboration with the American Cancer Society, the initiative, called “A Crucial Catch: Annual Screening Saves Lives,” encourages women 40 and older about the importance of having an annual mammogram.
Beginning on Oct. 3 and continuing throughout the month, NFL Breast Cancer Awareness games will feature:
» Game balls with pink ribbon decals used for every down
» Players wearing pink cleats, wristbands, gloves, chin straps, sideline caps, helmet decals, eye shield decals, captains’ patches, sideline towels and quarterback towels
» Pink coins used for the coin toss
» Pink sideline caps for coaches and sideline personnel and pink ribbon pins for coaches and team executives
» Officials wearing caps with pink ribbons, pink wristbands and pins and using pink whistles
» On-field pink ribbon stencils and A Crucial Catch wall banners
» Pink goal-post padding in end zones
Game-worn pink merchandise and footballs will be autographed postgame and auctioned at NFL Auction. Unique NFL experiences such as a VIP trip to Super Bowl XLV and a 2011 Pro Bowl Spa Retreat Experience in Hawaii also will be up for auction. All NFL Auction proceeds during the month of October will benefit the American Cancer Society and team charities. Special pink merchandise will be available at www.NFLShop.com, in stadium retail stores, at Dick’s, Hatworld and Lids, with a portion of proceeds going to breast cancer charities.
From cleats to gloves, towels to caps, NFL partners including Nike, Reebok, adidas, Gatorade, Wilson, Under Armour, Cutters Gloves, McArthur Towel and Sports and Longaberger are creating pink merchandise for Breast Cancer Awareness games.
Trading-card companies Panini and Topps will produce special pink trading cards featuring facts on breast cancer; they will be available, free of charge with purchase, at stadium retail stores.
