NFL
Chiefs Defender Derrick Nnadi Is a Dog’s Best Friend After Super Bowl
John Moriello started covering sports in 1982, began digital publishing in 1995, and joined Sportscasting in 2020. A graduate of St. John Fisher University, he finds inspiration in the underdogs and the fascinating stories sports can tell (both the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat). John expertly covers all aspects of NASCAR. Beginning with his 2014 coverage at Fox Sports of the aftermath of the dirt-race tragedy in which Kevin Ward Jr. died after being struck by a car driven by NASCAR Hall of Famer Tony Stewart, John has excelled as a journalist who specializes in the motorsports world. He previously spent more than three decades covering high school sports and worked as a beat writer covering Big East football and basketball, but NASCAR is now where the true expertise falls. John is a member of the New York State Basketball Hall of Fame (2013), the President of the New York State Sportswriters Association, and a two-time Best of Gannett winner for print and online collaborations whose work has appeared on FoxSports.com and MaxPreps.com.
Get to know John Moriello betterPublished04 Feb 2020
Credit a member of the Super Bowl champions with a dogged determination to do something positive for his community.
Even as Kansas City Chiefs player Derrick Nnadi celebrated on the field with teammates after the 31-20 victory over the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LIV the wheels were already turning in his mind. Nnadi had worked out a way to allow others to enjoy his team’s breakthrough moment while helping a cause he supports.
The defensive tackle had already put his charitable foundation to work with the KC Pet Project during the season, but Nnadi threw the agency another bone after the season-ending triumph in Miami.
Derrick Nnadi has been a good fit in Kansas City
Derrick Nnadi arrived with the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2018 NFL draft by way of Florida State.
Though he bowed out of the Senior Bowl due to an injury and did not make a particularly memorable impression at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Nnadi did catch the eye of Chiefs scouts. Before the draft, Kansas City traded its third- and fourth-round selections to the Baltimore Ravens for the opportunity to move up 11 places and draft Nnadi 75th overall.
He started 11 regular-season games as a rookie and all 16 contests in 2019, making 18 solo tackles and 30 assists this past fall to go along with the interception of a Philip Rivers pass in a 24-17 victory.
Nnadi had one of his most productive nights of the season in the Super Bowl with three solo stops, including one tackle for loss against the 49ers.
Charitable work has been a priority for Derrick Nnadi
Like many fellow pro athletes, Derrick Nnadi formed a charitable foundation after signing his first contract, which included a bonus of nearly $1 million. His charity has been active both in Kansas City, where he’s spent his brief NFL career, and in Virginia Beach, Virginia, where Nnadi grew up. According to his team biography, Nnadi’s foundation has been active with the Ronald McDonald House children’s charity and the Boys and Girls Club.
The Derrick Nnadi Foundation and KC Pet Project announced their collaboration early in the 2019 season, with the player pledging to pay the adoption fee for a dog in the shelter after every Chiefs victory. Including the three postseason wins, that allowed the shelter to place 15 dogs into area homes.
Celebrating the Super Bowl victory
The postseason was kind to the bank account of Kansas City Chiefs players. The victory in the Super Bowl was worth $124,000 per player, bringing their total playoff haul to $211,000.
That was more than enough for Nnadi, who has two dogs of his own, to step up his contribution. After the season-ending game, KC Pet Project announced on Facebook that he was paying the adoption fees – they can go as high as $300 per dog — for all adoptable dogs at their locations.
“We have had an amazing, season-long, partnership with Derrick and he couldn’t have thought of a better ending.”
KC Pet Project ANNOUNCEMENT
With an agency spokesman telling CBS News that they have been taking in more than 20 new dogs a day recently, Nnadi’s generosity will cover more than 100 animals.
