CINCINNATI — As the Bengals take on the Vikings, the game is also to celebrate the Walter Payton Man of the Year Nominee. The prestigious award goes to one player at the end of the season who has made a significant positive impact in his community. Each team has a nominee, and for the Bengals it’s their center and captain, Ted Karras.
What You Need To Know
- Ted Karras began selling Cincy Hats last November, with all proceeds going to the Village of Merici
- The Village is a nonprofit in Karras' hometown of Indianapolis that helps adults with developmental disabilities live independently
- In just more a year, more than 26,000 hats have been sold with about $1 million in revenue and $400,000 in profit going straight the the Village
- Because of his efforts, Karras has been nominated for the Walter Payton Man of the Year award, which goes to an NFL player that has made a significant positive impact in his community
Ted Karras has become a household name for Bengals fans since he signed with the team last summer.
And one thing Karras did when he joined the squad changed everything for him: he handed out Cincy Hats he designed to his new teammates.
“Credit to my teammates, they all wore it, the demand was crazy.," Karras said. "I got asked so many times where can I find these hats, can I get a hat and we ended up selling them. The spirit of the whole project is it’s a gift. And I never wanna lose that. So I still give out many to my friends, family, people who visit my house. I have my personal stash of hats.”
That held true for Karras’ childhood friend Matt Renie.
“He signs with the Bengals and then I go over to his house last July," Renie said. "I’m going to stay over at his house after one of their practices and he hands me this hat, this black hat with this cool Cincy script and I’m like o wow, that’s a cool hat, where’d you get it? And his response really confused me, he said he made it.”
Quickly The Cincy Hat was born. Karras made the designs, but he didn’t want the money, so he decided all profits would go to The Village of Merici. It's a nonprofit in Karras’s hometown of Indianapolis that helps adults with disabilities live independently.
“A lot of times they’re just at the mercy of what other people tell them to do," Karras said. "The Village provides an outlet for them to live their own lives independently. They get to make all their own decisions. Obviously there’s help and care, but it’s their life and they get to lead it how they want.”
The Village is run by Renie’s mother, and Renie now works full-time to ensure all The Cincy Hat orders get taken care of — because there’s been a lot of them. There's been nearly $1 million in revenue and more than 26,000 hats sold, giving the Village money to expand.
“We’ve generated about $400,000 in profits so far in the last year with the hat money alone," Renie said. "That’s not to mention the donations Ted’s given and the folks from the community have given. It’s really given them the confidence to break ground on that new apartment building, and I think it’s really helped get the word out.”
Karras is about as involved as he can be and visits the residents often.
“He walks in, he knows every single person’s name," Renie said. "He’s been in so many of their apartments and he loves them and he knows what they do, what their job is, when their birthday is. Yeah, Ted is a celebrity here.”
“I think they’re the light of the world," Karras said of the residents. "The enthusiasm and pure joy that they exude every day is so refreshing. To go over there and they’re so happy, the Village is such a happy place and when you go there to help them out. It feels so easy to be doing good. It doesn’t even feel like you’re doing any service, it just feels like you’re hanging out with your friends.”
For Karras, this project is a passion, but the Bengals and the NFL picked up on the good he’s doing, which is why he’s the team’s nominee for the Walter Payton Man of the Year award.
“I was deeply honored," Karras said. "Very grateful to this community that they’ve adopted this project with such fervor and enthusiasm. And really excited for how we can use this to grow the Village, grow the income of the Village, and provide more housing.”
Karras will have to wait until Super Bowl weekend to find out if he wins the prestigious award. For now, he’s glad to be able to get the word out about the Village, but he’s holding out hope.
“Obviously to be singled out and honored like that would be the honor of a lifetime," he said.
Saturday's game against the Vikings is also special because about 30 residents of the Village of Merici will attend and be honored on the field at halftime as part of the Walter Payton Man of the Year game.