Philadelphia Eagles star Chris Long is not done giving.
After donating the paychecks from his first six games of the 2017 season to his hometown of Charlottesville, Va., the defensive end announced Wednesday that he would pledge his remaining year’s salary to organizations in St. Louis, Boston and Philadelphia — cities where he has played for their NFL teams.
The goal of all his recent charity efforts has a central theme: education equity, the principal that everyone deserves a quality education, no matter their life circumstances.
“I’m playing the entire 2017 NFL season without collecting income because I believe that education is the best gateway to a better tomorrow for EVERYONE in America,” Long wrote on the page of his “Pledge 10 for Tomorrow” campaign.
Long added that he’s encouraging fans, businesses and anyone with an interest in bettering educational opportunities to join the pledge.
“My goal is that through this campaign my donation will be doubled by those inspired to join the effort — because together we can accomplish more,” he wrote.
Selected organizations in each city receives $100,000 from Long to start, with local supporters encouraged to make a $10 donation for every remaining week in the NFL season. Long pledges to give an additional $50,000 to the city that receives the most pledges by the end of week 16 of the regular season.
Long first gained attention for his charitable efforts last month when he donated his game checks to fund scholarships for local students in Charlottesville in the wake of a deadly white nationalist rally.
“In August, we watched people fill our hometown streets with hatred and bigotry,” Long said in a statement at the time. “Megan [his wife] and I decided to try to combat those actions with our own positive investment in our community.”