Buffalo Bills nominate Spencer Brown for Salute to Service Award
On Nov. 5, 2026, the Buffalo Bills announced right tackle Spencer Brown as the team’s nominee for the NFL’s Salute to Service Award, which recognizes members of the NFL community who honor, empower and connect with service members, veterans and their families. Brown said the recognition motivates him to do more and that he wants to “put them first” and give veterans the recognition and care they deserve. The nomination highlights his sustained engagement with military-related causes since he joined the Bills in 2021. The announcement and the story were published Nov. 5, 2026.
Military service has been part of Brown’s life through his family; his older brother, Garrett, served in the U.S. Marine Corps and was stationed in locations including Hawaii. Brown recalled visiting his brother while in college and living on the Marine Corps base during that visit, a memory he described as introducing him to “just awesome people.” Those early impressions helped shape his dedication to veterans and service members in Western New York.
Since arriving in Buffalo, Brown has taken part in multiple military-support initiatives, including the 2024 Buffalo Niagara Honor Flight and selecting Mission 22 for the NFL’s My Cause My Cleats program in both 2022 and 2025. He also participated in the Bills’ Salute to Service activities in 2025, including a Veterans Day visit to the Buffalo VA Hospital where he met veterans and staff and distributed Salute to Service gear. The Bills said his nomination reflects years of involvement and ongoing efforts to support veterans and military families.
Brown is one of 32 nominees announced by the NFL and USAA for the Salute to Service Award. Fans may vote at NFL.com/SaluteFanVote from now through Monday, Nov. 30, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. ET, with one vote per nominee permitted per day; fan voting will help determine the three finalists to be announced in January 2027. The award recipient will be recognized at NFL Honors during the week of Super Bowl LXI in Los Angeles. As presenting sponsor, USAA will donate $25,000 in the recipient’s name to official aid societies representing all U.S. military branches, and the NFL Foundation will match that with an additional $25,000 to the recipient’s military nonprofit charity of choice.
NFL Sports Blog Take
Spencer Brown’s nomination reflects a consistent, multi-year commitment to military causes rooted in family experience and amplified by league platforms. His roles in Honor Flight, My Cause My Cleats and team Salute to Service events demonstrate a sustained pattern of public engagement that fits the award’s purpose. Fan voting may increase attention and donations for veteran-focused organizations tied to the award’s charitable contributions. Regardless of the final outcome, the nomination will elevate awareness of veterans programs in Western New York and of the Bills’ community work in support of service members and their families.