NFL and FedEx Announce Candidates for the 20th-Annual FedEx Air and Ground® NFL Players of the Year

The National Football League and FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) announced today quarterbacks Josh Allen (Buffalo Bills), Joe Burrow (Cincinnati Bengals) and Patrick Mahomes (Kansas City Chiefs) are the finalists for the 2022 FedEx Air NFL Player of the Year honors, while running backs Nick Chubb (Cleveland Browns), Derrick Henry (Tennessee Titans) and Josh Jacobs (Las Vegas Raiders) are the finalists for the 2022 FedEx Ground NFL Player of the Year.

In the weeks leading up to Super Bowl LVII, fans have the chance to cast their vote for the one quarterback and one running back they feel had the season’s best Air & Ground performances. Today through February 9 at 12:00 a.m. ET, fans can cast their vote for each category at nfl.com/fedex, via a Twitter poll on the @NFL official handle, or the NFL Mobile App.

For 20 years, FedEx has recognized the NFL quarterbacks and running backs voted by fans each week to be delivering the best performances for their fans and teammates each season. You can help celebrate these standout performances by voting for the FedEx Air & Ground NFL Players of the Year.

During the 2022-23 NFL regular season, FedEx worked with the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF), the largest organization exclusively representing the Black College community, to identify Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) across the country to receive donations to support needs-based scholarships through the 2023-24 school year. Each week of the regular season, a $2,000 donation was made in the name of the winning quarterback and running back (for a total of $4,000). This season, the six (6) nominees for the FedEx Air & Ground NFL Players of the Year Awards have already raised a combined $16,000.

To celebrate the FedEx Air & Ground NFL Players of the Year, FedEx will donate $20,000 each to the HBCU choice of the winning quarterback and running back. Similar to the regular season donations, the $40,000 donation will help support needs-based scholarships. For the year, more than $100,000 will be granted among select HBCUs to support student scholarships.

FedEx will announce the 2022 FedEx Air & Ground NFL Players of the Year winners at NFL Honors presented by Invisalign, a two-hour primetime awards special to air nationally on Thursday, February 9 from 9-11 p.m. ET (7-9 p.m. MT) on NBC from Symphony Hall in Phoenix, AZ.

For more information, visit nfl.com/fedex or follow the conversation on Twitter at @NFL. Learn how FedEx is creating opportunities with HBCUs throughout the U.S. at fedexcares.com.

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

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen finished the season tied for second in touchdown passes (35) while recording 4,283 passing yards. Allen had three games with at least four touchdown passes, tied for most in the league, and six games with 300 passing yards, second-most in the NFL this year. He became the sixth player with NFL history with three seasons with at least 4,000 passing yards and 35 touchdown passes.

• Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow ranked second in the NFL in completion percentage (68.3), tied for second with a franchise-record 35 touchdown passes and fifth with 4,475 passing yards. He recorded four games with at least 300 passing yards and three touchdown passes, tied for second-most in the league this season. Burrow, who has 11,774 career passing yards and 82 touchdown passes, ranks fourth all-time in passing yards and fifth in touchdown passes among players in their first three seasons.

• Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes led the NFL in passing yards (a career-high 5,250) and touchdown passes (41) while ranking second in rating with 105.2. He had 10 games with at least 300 yards, the most by a player in a single season since 2020. This marks his second-career season with at least 5,000 passing yards and 40 touchdown passes (2018), joining Drew Brees (2011-12) as the only players ever with two seasons of 5,000 passing yards and 40 touchdown passes.

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

• Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb finished the season ranked third in the league in rushing yards (1,525) and tied for fifth in rushing touchdowns (12). He recorded seven games with at least 100 rushing yards, second-most such games this year. Chubb, who has at least 1,000 rushing yards in each of the past four seasons, became the third player all-time to record at least 950 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns in each of his first five seasons.

• Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry ranked second in the NFL with 1,538 rushing yards and tied for the second-most rushing touchdowns with 13. His nine games with at least 100 rushing yards were a league-best this season. Henry, who ran for 219 rushing yards in Week 8, now has six career games with at least 200 rushing yards – tied for most such games in NFL history.
• Las Vegas Raiders running back Josh Jacobs led the league with a career-high 1,653 rushing yards and tied for fifth with 12 rushing touchdowns. His 229 rushing yards in Week 12 were a single-game league-high during the 2022 season – including the 86-yard touchdown run in overtime, the second-longest overtime rushing touchdown since 1974. Jacobs had five games of at least 125 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown, most in the NFL.