QB United, a new charitable organization, officially announced its debut today with an unprecedented group of 57 current and past NFL quarterback champions committed to its first global awareness campaign supporting suicide prevention and mental health. September 10 is World Suicide Prevention Day.
A 501 (c)(3) organization, QB United’s mission is to bring past and current NFL quarterbacks together as one united voice, which will amplify each quarterback’s individual charitable efforts, while maximizing impact and ultimately saving lives.
Two-time NFL Super Bowl champion Jeff Hostetler, QB United’s founding member and spokesman, expressed how unprecedented this collective movement is. “I am really impressed with how quickly this group of QBs responded. This unified voice is going to attack suicide, which has reached historic levels, by bringing awareness, hope, and ultimately healing. I have no doubt that this group’s united voice will inspire others to walk alongside us, now and in the future.”
QB United Quarterbacks – Seven Decades of NFL Champions
The QB United quarterbacks are among the most accomplished and recognizable names in NFL history, including Troy Aikman, Terry Bradshaw, John Elway, Eli Manning, Peyton Manning, Dan Marino, Joe Namath, Dak Prescott, Ben Roethlisberger, Doug Williams and Steve Young.
Together they span seven decades of NFL champions, have 21 Super Bowl victories, 11 are Pro Football Hall of Famers and nine are current NFL quarterbacks. They are joining forces as one united, powerful, and trusted voice to drive awareness, hope, and healing for some of the most important charitable causes in the world.
The following past and current NFL quarterbacks have committed to date to QB United’s first campaign supporting suicide prevention: Troy Aikman, Steve Beuerlein, Drew Bledsoe, Terry Bradshaw, Drew Brees, Bubby Brister, Mark Brunell, Derek Carr, Kirk Cousins, Jake Delhomme, Trent Dilfer, John Elway, Boomer Esiason, Brett Favre, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Joe Flacco, Rich Gannon, Jeff Garcia, Jimmy Garoppolo, Jason Garrett, Trent Green, Will Grier, Jim Harbaugh, Jeff Hostetler, Ron Jaworski, Brad Johnson, Josh Johnson, Daniel Jones, Jim Kelly, Jeff Kemp, Gary Kubiak, Oliver Luck, Tommy Maddox, Archie Manning, Eli Manning, Peyton Manning, Dan Marino, Jim McMahon, Chris Miller, Warren Moon, Joe Namath, Jake Plummer, Dak Prescott, Ben Roethlisberger, Tony Romo, Jeff Rutledge, Mark Rypien, Sean Salisbury, Jay Schroeder, Phil Simms, Geno Smith, Joe Theismann, Kurt Warner, Danny White, Doug Williams, Russell Wilson and Steve Young.
QB United’s suicide prevention campaign features a one-minute video which aggregates short mobile video clips by the 57 current and past NFL quarterbacks who speak directly on camera, providing messages of support: “talk to someone,” “talk to your family,” “you matter,” “stay here with us,” “you are loved,” and “it’s OK to talk about it.” The video highlights that, according to the World Health Organization, every 40 seconds someone dies by suicide, less time than the video itself. Here is a 30-second version of the one-minute video which debuts September 10.
With more than 250 influencers to date committing their support to amplify QB United’s video, the campaign goal is to reach more than 250 million people and 100% of funds raised through the campaign will go to organizations helping to address mental health initiatives.
The campaign video debuts September 10 across social media platforms in conjunction with both World Suicide Prevention Day and NFL Sunday Kickoff and will run through World Mental Health Day on October 10. QB United also is partnering with several leading suicide prevention organizations for the campaign, including: 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline and American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
