Raiders defender Adam Butler named league nominee for military service award

Las Vegas Raiders defensive tackle Adam Butler is the team’s nominee for the NFL’s 2026 Salute to Service Award. The league honors one member each year for their work with the military community. This marks the 16th year of the award, which is sponsored by USAA. Each of the 32 NFL teams submitted a nominee for consideration.

Butler’s family background connects him to the service. His father served 20 years in the U.S. Air Force and retired as a chief master sergeant. Butler has participated in several events to support service members and their families throughout the year.

At USAA’s annual Boot Camp, Butler coached 50 active-duty service members through drills. He also visited Creech Air Force Base to meet with leaders and train with more than 100 service members. During the Raiders Holiday Salute event, he interacted with 500 military families and children. They picked out holiday trees and received sweaters during the seasonal activities.

For the My Cause My Cleats campaign, Butler selected active-duty military members and veterans as his cause. He partnered with U.S. Vets Las Vegas to design a custom cleat concept. A veteran helped create the design based on his personal experience.

Fans can vote for their favorite nominees at NFL.com/SaluteFanVote through Nov. 30. Each fan may cast one vote per day to help determine the three finalists. The league will announce the finalists in January. The winner will be recognized at the NFL Honors awards show during Super Bowl week. San Francisco running back Christian McCaffrey, last year’s winner, will join the selection panel.

Other recent winners include George Kittle in 2024, Joe Cardona in 2023, Ron Rivera in 2022 and Andrew Beck in 2021.