What are NFLAH Campaigns?
What are ‘Huddle for Health’ Campaigns?
About Huddle for Health Campaigns
NFL Alumni Health Huddle for Health campaigns are collaborative initiatives with partner organizations that harness the credibility and influence of former professional football players and other team members to make a lasting impact on communities through various public health, wellness, and educational initiatives. Huddle for Health campaigns are strategically designed to integrate former players as health ambassadors into existing externally run initiatives to enhance the reach and effectiveness of key health messages. By leveraging the recognizable and trusted voices of NFL alumni, these campaigns can substantially ignite project enthusiasm, increase public attention and viewership, promote media coverage, and amplify overall impact. Alumni health ambassadors participate in various capacities, from hosting webinars and sharing content via social media to publicly presenting at events and supplying media interviews
NFL Alumni Health Ambassador Foundations:
Trust, Endorsement, Validation, Authenticity and Identity
What Impact Can NFL Alumni Health Ambassadors Have on Campaigns?
The addition of NFL alumni Health Ambassadors not only boosts campaign visibility but also builds trust with audiences who view them as relatable, credible figures. With nearly 18% of the U.S. population now turning to social media influencers for medical information—particularly millennials and Gen Z—former athletes have become powerful public figures whose voice carries significant influence, particularly when it comes to health topics. Unlike the countless influencers without medical qualifications, NFL Alumni have real-world experience in health, fitness, and discipline, making them relatable yet authoritative. NFLAH additionally partners with medical experts to ensure public information delivered by athletes is evidence-based and credible.
In a world where 37% of people trust influencers more than their doctors and where up to 40% of Gen Z prefer TikTok for health searches over Google, the presence of respected, educated NFL figures can fill a crucial gap in disseminating accurate, life-changing information. They can challenge the alarming trend of misinformation, especially in healthcare, where up to 84% of TikTok videos on health topics have been found to be misleading. As former professional athletes with a strong connection to physical health, they have the power to capture attention and, most importantly, foster trust where it is desperately needed.
Health Campaign Examples
Since its inception, NFL Alumni Health has executed multiple collaborative campaigns with leading public health and regulatory authorities like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA).
For example, during COVID-19, more than 110 former and current NFL players joined the CDC to promote vaccination awareness and reduce public hesitancy. Health Ambassadors joined in 20 national events, shared through public service announcements (PSA’s), engaged via social media, and/or served as media spokespersons. Their collaboration generated 452 media stories with an estimated 3.4 trillion potential impressions. Similarly, Health Ambassador social media posts reached more than 20 million potential impressions and substantial reposts amplifying the mission’s reach.
Taking advantage of football’s largest stage, NFL Alumni Health also co-hosted a public awareness campaign at the 2024 Super Bowl with the DEA, highlighting the dangers of illicit fentanyl. In addition to co-hosting a health symposium on the topic, DEA officials joined an NFLAH Health Ambassador on Radio Row to spread the campaign message. Their 14 collaborative interviews were amplified through more the 720 syndicated radio interviews reaching 47 million listeners.
