NFL and American Heart Association Award Super Bowl Tickets and School Grants for CPR Training

The National Football League Foundation and American Heart Association have awarded five students tickets to Super Bowl LX and five schools $10,000 physical activity equipment grants as incentives for completing Hands-Only CPR training through the organizations' collaborative education initiative. The awards recognize participants in the American Heart Association's in-school programs, Kids Heart Challenge and American Heart Challenge, during the 2024-2025 school year.

Students from Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Florida, Texas, and Washington received two tickets each to Super Bowl LX, scheduled for February 8, 2026, at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California. The winning schools, located in Arkansas, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, California, and Minnesota, will use their $10,000 awards for physical activity equipment upgrades. Nancy Brown, chief executive officer of the American Heart Association, stated that through NFL-provided incentives, the collaboration motivates more students to complete Hands-Only CPR training and share knowledge with families, expanding cardiac emergency response awareness.

The initiative addresses a critical public health need, as more than 350,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occur annually in the United States, with 70% happening at home. According to American Heart Association data, 90% of people who experience cardiac arrest outside hospitals die, often because immediate CPR isn't administered more than half the time. Immediate CPR can double or triple survival chances. Research shows children as young as four can impact survival rates by calling 911.

Alexia Gallagher, NFL Vice President of Philanthropy and Executive Director of the NFL Foundation, emphasized that equipping young people with CPR knowledge and confidence strengthens the chain of survival and builds healthier, safer communities. The NFL's support includes an introduction video by Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin, a cardiac arrest survivor, who shares how CPR saved his life and encourages kids to learn the skill. The video appears before the Kids Heart Challenge Hands-Only CPR online learning module available at https://www.heart.org/schools.

The NFL Foundation has renewed its commitment for the 2025-2026 school year, offering five student participants tickets to Super Bowl LXI on February 14, 2027, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, and five schools $10,000 fitness equipment makeovers. Entries are available through the Hands-Only CPR module called Finn's Mission. The American Heart Association, global leader in resuscitation science and publisher of official CPR guidelines, aims to double cardiac emergency survival rates by 2030 through this educational expansion.

With most cardiac arrests occurring at home, CPR knowledge is critically important for families. The Association recommends that if a teen or adult collapses, witnesses should immediately call emergency services and begin chest compressions at 100-120 beats per minute to approximately two inches depth. The organization encourages nationwide participation in its Nation of Lifesavers initiative, offering resources at https://www.heart.org/nation and https://www.heart.org/HandsOnlyCPR to learn CPR in 90 seconds.