The Indianapolis Colts brought home a major award last night, but Jim Irsay is the one whose fingerprints are all over it. Earlier this month, it was revealed that the Colts were one of the teams nominated for Sports Humanitarian Team of the Year, part of ESPYs Week and the 11th annual Sports Humanitarian Awards. The team was chosen as a finalist in recognition of Irsay's signature non-profit organization, Kicking the Stigma, which works to improve mental health awareness and treatment. After Irsay's sudden death earlier this year, donations to the charity poured in, as the Colts likewise took immediate action to ensure that his legacy would never be forgotten.
And the Colts just won Sports Humanitarian Team of the Year for him, too. It is the first team to win specifically for its work in mental health, and the third NFL team to win ever.
"Instead of the story being told about us, we wanted to tell our own story in hopes of helping others who are struggling," Kalen Jackson, one of Irsay's daughters and now, a co-owner of the Colts, said in a press release.
"In the mental health space, any award like this or any light being shown in this area is just so important and saves lives simply by talking about it. I hope that anyone seeing us receive it or hearing the story of Kicking The Stigma, I hope that it makes those people that are suffering silence know they are not alone. And that we are going to continue to fight the fight to get more resources, the fight to bring this to people's attention and make people realize the need in this space is still extremely high, and we're not stopping any time soon."
Thank you so much for this recognition. My dad is smiling down 💙💙💙 thank you @PatMcAfeeShow for presenting our award tonight 🙏 https://t.co/fOl8v5bHs0
— Kalen Jackson (@KalenIJackson) July 16, 2025
Presenting the award to Jackson was Colts alum Pat McAfee, who discussed the team's philanthropic mindset on his show the next day.
"She's been in the community of Indianapolis since, like birth, basically," he said. "She has tried to give back to the city and society as much as possible, as have the Indianapolis Colts, kind of following in Jim Irsay's way, which is very much a philanthropic mindset every single day."
Jackson also celebrated the award in an emotional message, tweeting that her dad was "smiling down" as they won.
Following Jim Irsay's way: Having a philanthropic mindset every single day. pic.twitter.com/lbzwpxgjst
— Kicking The Stigma (@KickingStigma) July 16, 2025
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell applauded the team's win, as well as the Irsay family's sincere and tireless effort to improve mental heatl.
"Jim had such a capacity to care for people, to take the bold step to do something different and to make a difference in the world," Goodell said. "So it didn't surprise me at all when the Irsay family, led by Jim, really came out with the Kicking The Stigma initiative because it's what Jim's all about — doing something different to make the world a better place.
"... I think it's incredibly authentic that Kalen is leading this because she has this passion inside her. You have to have one conversation with her and understand how deeply she feels about this, the way it's impacted her and her family, the way she sees it in her community."