The National Football League today announced Los Angeles Chargers outside linebacker Khalil Mack was named a finalist for the Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award for the second-straight season.
Among the most respected players in the National Football League, Mack is in his 11th pro season and his third with the Bolts. He has been a team captain in nine of his pro seasons, including all three with Los Angeles. Mack tied the Chargers single-season record with a career-best 17.0 sacks last season, becoming just the second player to have a 12-sack season with three different franchises since the individual sack became an official stat in 1982.
The NFL's 2016 Defensive Player of the Year and an eight-time Pro Bowl selection, Mack is one of the most decorated defensive players in football. He is a three-time first-team All-Pro from The Associated Press, including in 2015 when he was the first player ever to be named an AP first-team All-Pro at two different positions in the same season. Mack is a four-time AFC Defensive Player of the Week winner and has won Defensive Player of the Month honors three times — AFC in November 2016 and November 2023, and NFC in September 2018.
Mack was selected by the Oakland Raiders with the No. 5 overall pick in 2014 and has started 163-of-164 career regular-season games with the Raiders, Bears and Chargers. The native of Fort Pierce, Fla., has recorded 106.5 sacks, 627 tackles (460 solo), three interceptions, 186 quarterback hits, 141 tackles for loss, 32 forced fumbles and 13 recoveries in his career. Since entering the NFL in 2014, Mack's 256 career quarterback hurries lead the league, while his 24 strip-sacks and 32 forced fumbles both rank No. 2.
