Sam Acho is an author, a public speaker, a humanitarian, and a committed Christian. He is also currently a linebacker in the NFL.

In 2016 and 2017, Sam was the Bears’ nominee for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award, the league’s only award that recognizes both civic and professional contributions. He served on the leadership committee for both the Cardinals and the Bears. He is also the vice president of the NFL Players Association, an organization in which he has served since his second year in the NFL.

Having grown up in Dallas with parents who emphasized scholastic achievement, Sam was named by Sporting News as one of the twenty smartest athletes in all of sports. Every year he joins his family on medical mission trips to Nigeria. He recently built a hospital there through Living Hope Christian Ministries, an organization in which he serves as vice president.