Eagles' Jalen Hurts Honored As Philadelphia Citizen of the Year

Super Bowl champion one day, citizen of the year the next.

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts during the Super Bowl LIX parade on Feb 14, 2025. / Caean Couto-Imagn Images

Super Bowl-winning Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts received the Philadelphia Citizen of the Year award on Tuesday night, presented to him by Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro.

The 26-year-old was selected for the award due to his work mentoring children, his support for the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and his donations to Philadelphia public schools, to which he gave hundreds of thousands of dollars to pay for air conditioners.

“This guy is a champion on the field, but we are recognizing him tonight … because he gives a damn about us and he recognizes his role as a citizen here in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania," Shapiro said, per the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Other individuals honored at the ceremony, which is sponsored by the Philadelphia Citizen, included Dianna C. Coleman, block captain of the year; Njemele Tamala Anderson, educator of the year; Stephen A. Grupp and Alexis A. Thompson, disrupters of the year; Declan Cassidy, youth citizen of the year; Gregory E. Deavens, Lewis Katz Corporate citizen of the year; and Marsha Levick, the A. Leon Higginbotham Jr. Social Justice Champion. Both Larry Magic and Judith M. von Seldeneck also received Edward G. Rendell Lifetime Achievement Awards.

“As I sit here in this room, I see a common theme,” Hurts said as he accepted the accolade. “I’ve received a ton of awards. God’s blessed me with so much in my life. I must say, this award holds a special significance for me, knowing everything that we have in common in this room. Everyone has a certain level of drive, a certain level of passion, a will ... about what they do. I think that’s a quality that oozes throughout the city of Philadelphia—tough and gritty people that don’t take ‘no’ for an answer."

He added: "The city of Philadelphia has been great to me. I know I’ve given it my heart and my soul daily, and it means the world to have all these different avenues. … This holds a special place in my heart, and the pursuit [of] what we’re doing, everyone in this room, it’s more than just on the field but off the field. That pursuit to uplift those around us and create those opportunities continues.”

Hurts award comes not long after his Eagles teammate Darius Slay was given the key to his Georgia hometown on Saturday afternoon.

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