NFL AND FEDEX UNVEIL 2018 FEDEX AIR & GROUND NFL PLAYERS OF THE YEAR CANDIDATES FOR FAN VOTING

NFL AND FEDEX UNVEIL 2018 FEDEX AIR & GROUND^®

NFL PLAYERS OF THE YEAR CANDIDATES FOR FAN VOTING

FedEx Supports United Service Organizations (USO) with more than $100,000 in Donations 

The National Football League and FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) announced today quarterbacks PatrickMahomes (Kansas City Chiefs), Drew Brees (New Orleans Saints) and Philip Rivers (Los Angeles Chargers) are the finalists for the 2018 FedEx Air NFL Player of the Year honors, while running backs Todd Gurley (Los Angeles Rams), Ezekiel Elliott (Dallas Cowboys) and Saquon Barkley (New York Giants) are the finalists for the 2018 FedEx Ground NFL Player of the Year. 

In the weeks leading up to Super Bowl LIII, fans have the chance to cast their vote for the one quarterback they feel had the year’s best Air performance and the one running back with year’s best Ground performance. Today through January 31 at 3:00 pm ET, fans can cast their vote for each category at nfl.com/fedex​​ or via a Twitter poll on the @N​FL official handle.

As part of the FedEx Air & Ground NFL Players of the Year program, FedEx will donate $40,000 to the USO – $20,000 in each winning player’s name – through FedEx Cares. The donation will be used to support the USO, a military support organization dedicated to connecting service members and their families to family, home and country throughout their service to the nation.

Throughout the 2018-19 season, FedEx supported its commitment to serving the community by making weekly $2,000 donations to the USO in each of the weekly winning players’ names. The total contribution will amount to $108,000 this season. 

FedEx will announce the 2018 FedEx Air & Ground NFL Players of the Year winners at NFL Honors, a two-hour primetime awards special to air nationally on Feb. 2, the night before Super Bowl LIII, from 9-11 PM (ET and PT) on CBS.

A closer look at the FedEx Air NFL Player of the Year finalists: 

·   ​  ​​Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes led the NFL with 50 touchdown passes and joined Peyton Manning (55 touchdown passes in 2013) and Tom Brady (50 in 2007) as the only quarterbacks with at least 50 touchdown passes in a single season in NFL history. He ranked second in the NFL with a franchise-record 5,097 passing yards and became the seventh different player in NFL history with 5,000+ pass yards in a single season. In total, Mahomes had seven games with at least four touchdown passes this season, the second-most in a single season in league annals. A 2019 Pro Bowl selection, Mahomes led the Chiefs to a 12-4 record and the AFC’s No. 1 seed.

·       New Orleans QB Drew Brees led the NFL with a 115.7 passer rating and 74.4 completion percentage, the highest single-season completion percentage in NFL history. He passed for 3,992 yards with 32 touchdowns and five interceptions and became the third quarterback in league annals with at least 30 touchdown passes and five or fewer interceptions in a single season. A 2019 Pro Bowl selection, Brees led the Saints to a 13-3 record and the NFC’s No. 1 seed.

·       Los Angeles Chargers QB Philip Rivers passed for 4,308 yards in 2018 and joined Peyton Manning (14 seasons), Drew Brees (12) and Tom Brady (10) as the only quarterbacks in NFL history with 10 seasons of at least 4,000 passing yards. Rivers threw at least two touchdown passes in each of the Chargers’ first 12 games of the season and became the fourth quarterback in NFL history with two or more touchdown passes in each of his team’s first 12 games to start a season. A 2019 Pro Bowl selection, Rivers led the Chargers to a 12-4 record, the most wins by the team since 2009.

A closer look at the FedEx Ground NFL Player of the Year finalists: 

·       Los Angeles Rams RB Todd Gurley led the NFL with 21 scrimmage touchdowns (17 rushing, four receiving) and ranked fourth with 1,831 scrimmage yards. A 2019 Pro Bowl selection, Gurley scored at least one touchdown in each of the Rams’ first 10 games and became the fourth player in league history to score a touchdown in each of their team’s first 10 games of a season.

·       Dallas Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott led the league with 1,434 rushing yards and had a career-high 2,001 scrimmage yards to become the fourth player in franchise history with 2,000+ scrimmage yards in a single season. A 2019 Pro Bowl selection, Elliott is the fourth player in league history to record at least 1,900 scrimmage yards in two of his first three NFL seasons.

·       New York Giants RB Saquon Barkley led the NFL with 2,028 scrimmage yards and joined Pro Football Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson (2,212 scrimmage yards in 1983) and Edgerrin James (2,139 in 1999) as the only rookies with at least 2,000 scrimmage yards in NFL history. A 2019 Pro Bowl selection, Barkley ranked second in rushing yards (1,307) and had 91 receptions in 2018, the most by a rookie running back in NFL history.

As the Official Delivery Service Sponsor of the NFL, Super Bowl and Pro Bowl, FedEx is proud to sponsor the 16^th annual FedEx Air & Ground NFL Players of the Year awards. The awards highlight the league’s leaders at the quarterback and running back positions, recognizing the players that consistently delivered the best results throughout the season. 

The $108,000 donation is part of the company’s FedEx Cares global giving platform, in which FedEx is continuing tol invest $200 million in more than 200 communities by 2020 to create opportunities and deliver solutions around the world. 

For more information, visit nfl.com/fedex or follow the conversation on Twitter at @NFL.