Senior Writer
There is no “done enough” switch in Cam Jordan.
So, the New Orleans Saints defensive end and the team’s NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year Award nominee – and the NFL’s 2025 Bart Starr Award winner – on Tuesday simply kept doing what he has since joining the Saints as a first-round draft pick in 2011: He unveiled another way to give back.
Jordan announced the launch of the Transformative Legacy Scholarship Program for high school seniors in Louisiana at the Maidstone Hotel, where he and a couple of former teammates – Mark Ingram II and Jameis Winston – are investors.
This year four seniors will be recipients of the scholarships, which will provide full tuition for four years at an in-state college or university.
“It’s an idea that these high school seniors, in state, go to an in-state institution but we also want to make sure that they’re ready for it,” Jordan said. “So that’ll come with deciding whatever they need – textbooks, laptops, etc.
“I’ve always said that the next generation is what I’m focused on, I’ve always said that education is important and this is my next thing of putting my time and effort and money to what my mouth has been saying.
“It’s not that I ‘have’ to do anything. At one point all I had to do was sack quarterbacks but beyond that, I’m all about mentorship, whether that was with football players coming in or the kids I’m talking to, trying to mentor them.
“It’s all about what have you learned and what can you teach. And for me, it’s about giving back – giving back from my heart to theirs, giving back from my mind to theirs, giving back to the needs of my city.”
The primary objectives of the scholarship are: To expand access to higher education by providing full tuition to support students from underserved backgrounds, enabling them to pursue higher education without financial strain; to foster career readiness programs, wherein students will be equipped with essential skills via workshops, mentorships and internships; and to build community leadership by empowering students to become role models and contributors to their communities, and later to Louisiana’s work force.
Applications for the scholarships will open Feb. 10 on the Cam Jordan Foundation website.
“This program is about giving young people in New Orleans the opportunity to chase their dreams no matter what their background is,” said Jordan, who partnered with Microsoft, Google, Entergy and Raising Cane’s on the project.
“We’re breaking down financial barriers and providing mentorship, resources and career exposure where they need it to succeed – not just in school, but in life. I’ve always believed in the power of education. My dad, Steve Jordan, went to Brown University (and) was an engineer. His parents, both of them were teachers. So I’ve always believed in education.”
Jordan said he was driven to help improve his adopted city and state.
“It’s us,” he said. “It’s New Orleans. We’ve been here, we’ve seen things, we’ve gone beyond.
“I say ‘us’ and ‘we’ even though I’m a transplant from Arizona, because I feel like that’s where I’ve been. (My) kids are born here, kids are raised here, this city is a part of me and will always be.”
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