Template:Short description Template:Infobox sports award The Butkus Award, instituted in 1985 by the Downtown Athletic Club of Orlando, is given annually to the top linebackers at the high school, collegiate and professional levels of football. The award, named in honor of College Football Hall of Fame and Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker Dick Butkus, is presented by the Butkus Foundation, a non-profit organization that supports a number of health and wellness activities including the "I Play Clean" anti-steroid program. The award was first established by the Downtown Athletic Club of Orlando, which relinquished control of the award in 2008 following a lawsuit by Butkus.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Traditionally, the award was given only to the top collegiate linebacker. The Butkus Award was expanded in 2008 to include high school and professional winners<ref name="ware2008">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> as part of a makeover by the Butkus family to help end anabolic steroid abuse among young athletes. Three players have won both the high school and collegiate Butkus Awards: Notre Dame linebackers Manti Te'o (2008, 2012) and Jaylon Smith (2012, 2015) and also Georgia linebacker Nakobe Dean (2018, 2021). Four players have won both the collegiate and professional Butkus Awards: San Francisco 49ers linebacker Patrick Willis (2006, 2009), Denver Broncos linebacker Von Miller (2010, 2012), Carolina Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly (2011, 2014, 2015, 2017), and Baltimore Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith (2017, 2022, 2023).
RecipientsEdit
Collegiate winnersEdit
Professional winnersEdit
| Year | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | DeMarcus Ware<ref name="ware2008"/> | Dallas Cowboys |
| 2009 | Patrick Willis<ref name="willis2009">OleMissSports.com: Willis Wins Butkus Award As Collegian And Pro Template:Webarchive</ref> | San Francisco 49ers |
| 2010 | Clay Matthews III<ref name="butkuspastwinners">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref>|| Green Bay Packers |
| 2011 | Terrell Suggs<ref name="butkuspastwinners" /> | Baltimore Ravens |
| DeMarcus Ware<ref name="butkuspastwinners" /> | Dallas Cowboys | |
| 2012 | Von Miller<ref name="butkuspastwinners" /> | Denver Broncos |
| 2013 | NaVorro Bowman<ref name="butkuspastwinners" /> | San Francisco 49ers |
| 2014 | Luke Kuechly<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | Carolina Panthers |
| 2015 | Luke Kuechly<ref name="butkuspastwinners" /> | Carolina Panthers |
| 2016 | Khalil Mack<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> || Oakland Raiders |
| 2017 | Luke Kuechly<ref name="butkuspastwinners" /> | Carolina Panthers |
| 2018 | Khalil Mack<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | Chicago Bears |
| 2019 | Chandler Jones<ref name="butkuspastwinners" /> | Arizona Cardinals |
| 2020 | T. J. Watt<ref name="butkuspastwinners" /> | Pittsburgh Steelers |
| 2021 | Micah Parsons<ref name="butkuspastwinners" /> | Dallas Cowboys |
| 2022 | Roquan Smith<ref name="butkuspastwinners" /> | Baltimore Ravens |
| 2023 | Roquan Smith<ref name="butkuspastwinners" /> | Baltimore Ravens |
High school winnersEdit
ReferencesEdit
External linksEdit
Template:Dick Butkus Award (collegiate) Template:Dick Butkus Award (high school) Template:Dick Butkus Award (professional) {{#invoke:Navbox|navbox}} Template:High school football award navbox Template:NFL awards