LONG DONATES SALARY FOR EDUCATIONAL EQUALITY
Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Chris Long is donating his entire 2017 base salary, worth $1 million, to benefit educational charities. Long, through the Chris Long Foundation, announced Wednesday that he will donate his next 10 game checks to organizations that support educational equality in the three cities that he has spent his 10-year career playing in — Philadelphia this season, Boston (New England Patriots) and St. Louis (the former St. Louis Rams). The campaign, called Pledge 10 for Tomorrow, also encourages fans and businesses to donate to match Long ’s contribution. “In my 10th year, I want to celebrate the awesome opportunity I’ve had to play football by giving back to the communities that have given me that gift,” Long said in a statement. “Educational opportunity and equity are the best gateway to a better tomorrow for everyone in America.” Earlier this season Long announced he was donating his first six game checks to fund scholarships to a private middle and high school in his hometown of Charlottesville, Va. Long signed a two-year contract with the Eagles last spring. He received a $750,000 signing bonus at that time. If he’s on the roster next season, Long will have a $1 million base salary, with a $1.25 mil- lion roster bonus. Long has 2.0 sacks in six games this season as a reserve defensive end. He has played about 41% of the defensive snaps. Long had never publicized his donations to charity before this season. But he said last month that he changed his mind this season because of the uproar involving the national anthem protests and violence during a Ku Klux Klan rally last summer in Charlottesville that led to the death of a woman protesting the rally.