Every year, Ravens Head Coach John Harbaugh gets $1,500 from New Era at the NFL League Meetings to spend for personal use or giveaways during the season.
As he enters his 10th year in Baltimore, Harbaugh and his family have plenty of Ravens gear by now.
This year, Harbaugh decided to spend the entire allotment on gifts for troops serving overseas. Harbaugh bought 154 New Era caps to give away.
"Certainly can't underestimate how appreciative we are of the great sacrifices made by our military members overseas, and so our goal with the caps was to try and brighten the days of as many Army men and women as we could," Harbaugh said.
Harbaugh didn't just buy 154 Ravens hats. The caps feature teams from across the NFL, MLB, NBA and colleges.
Among those worn by soldiers in photos sent back were hats representing the Houston Texans, who the Ravens will play on Monday Night Football on Nov. 27, Denver Broncos and Notre Dame. No sign of any Pittsburgh Steelers caps.
"I know that, unfortunately, not everyone is a Ravens fan, so I thought we should send hats of all teams," Harbaugh joked. "But I made sure there were some Ravens and Michigan caps in there in case anyone wants to change allegiances."
Harbaugh had the hats sent to U.S. Army Maj. Gen. JT Thomson, who Harbaugh met eight years ago during his trip to Afghanistan. The packages arrived at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan on April 27, and Thomson has been distributing them to troops across the country since. By Saturday, the hats had made it to a remote location in the northern Kunduz Province.
Harbaugh has had a long, close relationship with the military during his time in Baltimore. He was named the NFL's 2014 Salute to Service Award winner.
"Fortunately, I've got a couple tremendous contacts in Maj. Gen. JT Thomson, a great military leader and close friend, as well as the team at New Era, with both playing pivotal roles in making this small gesture such a big success," Harbaugh said.
