The generosity of Bills Mafia is wearing off on fan bases around the NFL.
After Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson went out with a concussion during their matchup with the Buffalo Bills on Saturday, Bills fans started donating to one of Jackson’s favorite charities in Louisville, Blessings in a Backpack.
According to USA Today writer Steve Gardner, Blessings in a Backpack chief marketing office Nikki Grizzle, said the foundation received 5,500 individual donations from Bills fans that totaled nearly $150,000 in 14 hours after the game.
Rick Ritter from WJZ CBS in Baltimore, gathered a few examples of Bills fans donating to the cause after the game.
The charity, which is based in Louisville, KY where Jackson starred as a quarterback in college, provides food on the weekends for elementary school children who might otherwise go hungry.
Now Ravens fans are returning the favor by donating to Josh Allen’s foundation with the Oishei Children’s Hospital. They are also planning on donating to Josh Norman’s Buffalo Business Blitz, which is helping support small businesses in the Buffalo area.
The trading of generosity isn’t new in Buffalo though, they’ve been doing things like this for quite sometime and they’ve helped out several foundations in the process.
Follow the Heavy on Bills Facebook page for the latest breaking news, rumors, and content!
Bills Mafia Helps Josh Allen After Loss of His Grandmother
Earlier this season, Josh Allen lost his grandmother, Patricia, just hours before their matchup with the Seattle Seahawks in Week 9. Allen only told a select few on the team before playing one of the best games of his career with 415 passing yards, three passing touchdowns, and a rushing touchdown in a 44-34 victory.
Once the sad news about Allen broke, Bills fans started donating to the Oishei Children’s Hospital in Buffalo and the number of donations quickly climbed high enough that the hospital named a wing of their hospital the “Patricia Allen Pediatric Recovery Wing”. They also named their 10th-floor playroom, which is inside the recovery wing, the “Buffalo Bills Fans Fun Zone”.
As of Monday, the live ticker of donations to the Oishei Children’s Hospital for the Patricia Allen Fund sat at $1,130,262.
Over the course of the regular season, Arizona Cardinals fans and even Colts fans donated to the fund as well after their matchups with the Bills.
The Bills had lost to the Cardinals on a hail mary pass to Deandre Hopkins and the Bills achieved their first playoff victory in 25 years over the Colts in the first round of the AFC playoffs.
Bills Mafia Started Donating Back in 2017
Four years ago, Bills Mafia started their chairtable actions when then-Cincinatti Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton took down the Ravens in the final week of the regular season with a 48-ayrd touchdown pass to Tyler Boyd. The touchdown allowed the Bills to break their 17-year playoff drought with a Wild Card apperance in the playoffs.
Bills Mafia was so grateful that they donated more than $415,000 to the Andy and Jordan Dalton Foundation for seriously ill children.
Now, the actions have come full circle and the Bills are heading to the AFC Championship for the first time since the 1993 season.
READ NEXT
Comments
Bills and Ravens Fans Trade Charitable Actions After Playoff Matchup