Shedeur Sanders Just Won Week 3 MVP Honors—But It Had Absolutely Nothing to Do With Football

Nairavoice | Sep 25, 2026 39m ago 165 0 3 min read

Shedeur Sanders Just Won Week 3 MVP Honors—But It Had Absolutely Nothing to Do With Football

Shedeur Sanders‘ East Cleveland school visit showed why he was named an NFLPA Community MVP. The Browns quarterback spent part of his week with students at two East Cleveland schools on Sept. 22, focusing on something much simpler than football.

Sanders and his team worked with local partners to provide students with school supplies while also giving them time with a Browns player in their own community.

Shedeur Sanders earns NFLPA Community MVP honor

Three days after that visit, the NFL Players Association named Sanders its Week 3 Community MVP. The award followed his work at Caledonia Elementary School and Kirk Middle School, where he helped give 500 students backpacks filled with school supplies. The NFLPA also announced a $10,000 donation to Sanders’ Legendary Impact Foundation.

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The recognition came with another part that mattered to Sanders. “I truly believe in perfect timing, and being named Community MVP means a lot,” Sanders said, according to the NFLPA. “What matters most is those kids knowing they are seen, they are heard and they are felt.”

The school event included more than the backpack giveaway. Sanders helped hand out the supplies, signed autographs and spoke with students. The group also held a pizza and ice cream celebration, giving the students time to interact with him away from the classroom.

September is Attendance Awareness Month, and Sanders said he wanted the visit to encourage students to keep showing up and taking part in their education. East Cleveland City Schools had also promoted his Sept. 22 visit to Kirk Middle School ahead of the event.

Shedeur Sanders’ Cleveland Work Goes Beyond One Visit

The backpack giveaway is part of Sanders’ wider community work since joining the Browns. According to the NFLPA, he hosted a free youth football camp for children in Ohio during the offseason. He also worked with Cleveland residents after a fire destroyed more than 100 homes at an apartment complex.

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Sanders later organized the Garden Valley Fun Fest for the community. The event included food, music, games and giveaways, giving local residents another way to spend time together.

The Week 3 award also makes Sanders eligible for the NFLPA’s Alan Page Community Award. It is the union’s highest honor for player community service. The winner also receives an additional $100,000 donation to support that work.

For Sanders, the Week 3 recognition grew from an afternoon focused on 500 students, 500 backpacks and a direct connection with the Cleveland community. The NFLPA’s donation now gives his foundation another resource to continue its work.