The $100M NFL Player Changing Lives In Eastern Africa

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Friends,

With the NFL season coming to a close this week, I thought it would be fun to tell the background story on one of my favorite charity initiatives in sports.

What am I talking about?

How one former NFL player, despite making almost $100M in career earnings, has spent the last 5 years transforming communities and saving lives in Eastern Africa.

Let’s start in 2013…

Chris Long traveled to Tanzania in an attempt to summit Mount Kilimanjaro - the highest peak in Africa.

Days later, Long conquered the summit and returned down the mountain with immense gratitude toward the region.

After arriving back at the hotel, Chris Long ran into Joe Buck and Doug Pitt - Brad Pitt's brother.

What were they doing in Tanzania?

As Goodwill Ambassador to Tanzania, Doug Pitt was in town building a sustainable water well for local residents.

Joe Buck traveled with Doug Pitt to volunteer his help.

Over a few drinks at the hotel bar, Doug Pitt and Joe Buck explained the problem to Chris Long.

Here are the facts:

• 785M people, or 1 in 9 globally, lack necessary drinking water.

• 1 in 5 child deaths under 5 years old is from a water-related illness.

• By 2025, half of the world’s population will live in water-stressed areas.

Even more interesting?

Doug Pitt and Joe Buck took Chris Long to see the problem first-hand.

"When you see a four-year-old kid drinking water from the same pond where animals defecate — you cannot help but be motivated to do something."

After seeing the lack of clean & drinkable water firsthand, Chris Long was deeply disturbed.

Once he arrived back in the US, Chris Long took action.

In 2015, Chris Long teamed up with other NFL players to launch the "Waterboys."

As a Waterboy, you have one mission:

"To provide clean, accessible drinking water to communities in need."

The group set out to install 32 water wells in Tanzania - one for each NFL team.

What about fundraising?

With an individual well costing $50,000, Chris Long started to look for unique ways to educate and raise money.

This is where “Conquering Kili” came in.

Chris Long and former NFL player/Army Green Beret Nate Boyer started organizing an annual climb of Mount Kilimanjaro to raise additional funds for their Waterboys initiative.

Here’s how it works…

Chris Long and Nate Boyer started recruiting NFL alumni and retired military personnel to attempt Mount Kilimanjaro's summit.

Each person had a fundraising goal, typically around $50,000, with the total money raised being put toward installing additional water wells in Tanzania.

The Conquering Kili initiative alone would’ve been commendable, but seeing the impact their mission for clean water had on local citizens, Chris Long doubled down.

In the years since Chris Long has worked with NBA player Malcolm Brogdon to expand the initiative within the NBA

In 2018, Malcolm Brogdon started Hoops2O - a group of NBA players with the same mission.

Within the first year, Hoops2O raised over $275k - which provided clean water for thousands of Tanzanian residents.

Even better?

Malcolm Brogdon and Hoops2O also got an assist from Charles Barkley.

In total, the Waterboys and its respective affiliates have provided clean & accessible water to over 350,000 people.

The best part?

They are just getting started.

The group has expanded to communities within the US and has a goal of providing water to 1 million people.

Ultimately, I love this story for one simple reason:

We're often force-fed stories of professional athletes getting in trouble or losing their money.

In this case, it's refreshing to see Chris Long display an incredible amount of humbleness, hard work, and compassion - ultimately saving thousands of lives.

Feeling inspired and want to get involved yourself?

A $30 donation provides water access to a family in need.

I made my donation; did you make yours?

If you enjoyed this story, make sure you follow me on Twitter.

In addition to this newsletter, I break down interesting stories involving the money and business behind sports into easily digestible 10-12 tweet threads.

Have a great day, and we’ll talk tomorrow.

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