Mary Kay Cabot honored by Pro Football Hall of Fame as Bill Nunn Jr. Award winner
Mary Kay Cabot, a longtime Browns beat writer for the Cleveland Plain Dealer and Cleveland.com, will have a place in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Cabot has been named the 2025 Bill Nunn Jr. Award winner by the Professional Football Writers of America, the PFWA announced on Thursday, May 29. The award is given to a reporter who has made a long and distinguished contribution to pro football through coverage.
Advertisement
A graduate of Lakewood High School and Kent State University, Cabot has covered the NFL since 1988.
More Cleveland Browns: 'It's a lot of fun': Veteran Joe Flacco weighs in on rookie QBs at OTAs
Mary Kay Cabot at the Cleveland Browns training facility in Berea, Ohio. Cabot is a longtime Browns beat writer for the Cleveland Plain Dealer and Cleveland.com.
Of the 57 Bill Nunn Jr. Award winners, Cabot is just the second woman. Charean Williams (Pro Football Talk) became the first in 2018. All recipients are commemorated on a plaque inside the Hall of Fame museum.
'I am truly overwhelmed and humbled to receive this prestigious award, and I can't thank my colleagues enough for recognizing my contribution to the game over all of these years,' Cabot said in a PFWA news release. 'I am especially grateful to be only the second female to win this award after the great Charean Williams, and I know there will be many more in the future. I hope I have at least in some small way helped blaze a trail for all of the fantastic women in the business today, and I am proud of all of their accomplishments.
Advertisement
'I am also honored to join my late, dear friend Chuck Heaton (1980 Nunn honoree) as the only members of the Cleveland Plain Dealer to earn this distinction. Chuck taught me early on that everyone has a story, and to always do the job with integrity and kindness. Thanks to all who have come before me for all you've done for the game.'
Cleveland Browns news: 4 QBs 'keep every competition the same' as they sort it out in offseason program
Cabot has been an at-large member of the Hall of Fame's selection committee for the past decade. She was voted the 2015 Ohio Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association and the Ohio Associated Press Media Editors Sportswriter of the Year in 2024. She was inducted into the Cleveland Press Club Hall of Fame in 2022.
'Mary Kay Cabot is synonymous with Cleveland Browns news, and it's because she is a relentless reporter,' Akron Beacon Journal sports columnist Nate Ulrich said in the PFWA release. 'Among the countless examples of Mary Kay digging for a story is when former Browns quarterback Colt McCoy suffered a concussion in 2011.
Advertisement
'The important insight Mary Kay gathered contributed to the NFL placing independent certified athletic trainers in press boxes and implementing a video system to monitor for potential concussions. Mary Kay is the epitome of a football writer who deserves to go from Cleveland to Canton.'
Cabot will be honored by the Hall of Fame at the Gold Jacket Dinner on Aug. 1 at the Canton Memorial Civic Center.
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Cleveland Browns beat writer Mary Kay Cabot wins Bill Nunn Jr. Award
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
New developments in Cleveland's fight to keep the Browns downtown
CLEVELAND (WJW) — The Fox 8 I-Team is tracking new developments in the city of Cleveland's fight to keep the Browns playing football downtown. On Friday, attorneys for the city filed a motion in federal court asking a judge to reconsider allowing the Browns to file an amended complaint. I-TEAM: New development in unsolved Cleveland Metroparks double murder 'Defendant the City of Cleveland (the City) respectfully asks this Court to reconsider its May 23, 2025 Order granting the Browns' motion to amend because the Court overlooked the threshold question of whether it even had jurisdiction to grant leave to amend,' the motion filed by attorneys for Cleveland states. 'As the City explained, the Browns did not properly invoke this Court's jurisdiction by suing under the Declaratory Judgment Act as a basis for federal-question jurisdiction.' The Browns are taking steps toward moving to a dome in Brook Park, and last year, they filed suit asking the federal court to throw out the Modell Law, an Ohio law that restricts sports teams from moving. The Browns filed an amended complaint Monday. More tax money requested to build Browns dome site as group support grows: I-Team The amended complaint attacks the city while referring to the plan by the Haslam Sports Group, saying, 'The Haslams' proposal is a fiscally sound solution for the City that will keep the Browns in the heart of the greater metropolitan area for at least another fifty years. Instead of recognizing the benefits of the Haslams' proposal, the City seeks to hold the Browns hostage to its own failure of vision. Instead of a new domed facility that can drive significant economic activity year-round, the City insists on sticking with an aging, uncovered stadium that is used only a dozen or so times annually.' Meanwhile, on Friday Downtown Cleveland, Inc President and CEO Michael Deemer testified before the State Senate Finance Committee in Columbus. Deemer told members of the committee he is in favor of keeping the Browns playing football downtown. The Browns plan to invest more than $1 billion in a dome and entertainment complex, but they are also asking for $600 million from the state. A decision on state funding is expected late next month. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Shedeur Sanders' training camp plan revealed by Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are coming up on their spring organized team activities, and the main storyline will be the quarterback battle featuring former Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders. Sanders joins third-round pick Dillon Gabriel and veterans Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett as the four quarterbacks fighting for the top position. Former Pro Bowler Deshaun Watson is also on the roster but is recovering from an Achilles injury. Advertisement On Friday, Stefanski appeared on ESPN Cleveland to discuss his crowded quarterback room and explain how he will divide the offseason reps. "I told the players, 'Don't pay attention to where you are in line because where you are on Tuesday, it may be different than Wednesday," Stefanski told ESPN Cleveland. "So no, we don't pay close attention to that. Certainly, you have to decide what order the guys are gonna go out, and sometimes it may be player X, player Y, whatever it is." It certainly sounds like an open competition, and Stefanski went further, saying that reps will fluctuate throughout the offseason as the Browns continue evaluating the signal callers. "The big thing for us is making sure we give the guys enough reps that they need," Stefanski said. "It's two-fold. Both, they're learning the system, they're developing, and we're evaluating them and finding out more about them. That's why I said before, it's not going to be everybody gets 25% of these reps. It's not how it's gonna be. We want to give everybody enough reps where we can learn more about them and prepare them to get ready to play." The Browns' four-person quarterback competition is unique considering two of the four quarterbacks were not even on the roster a month ago. Drafting two rookie quarterbacks at similar points in the draft is uncommon, but the Browns hope it brings out the best in both Sanders and Gabriel. Advertisement Despite falling to the fifth round, Sanders seems to have every shot at the starting job this season, especially after impressing at rookie minicamp. Stefanski, when asked about Sanders specifically, praised the rookie quarterback for the work he has done so far. "He's in there early, he's getting his work done," Stefanski said. "He's working really, really hard. I like everything there is about Shedeur." Follow Charlie Strella on X, Threads, and Instagram. Contact/Follow us @BuffaloesWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook for ongoing coverage of Colorado news, notes and opinions. This article originally appeared on Buffaloes Wire: Shedeur Sanders, Cleveland Browns training camp plan announced
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Shedeur Sanders says '99%' of scrutiny during NFL draft came from Deion Sanders critics
Much has been written and said about Shedeur Sanders' draft slide, and many people view Deion Sanders as the main culprit. The former Colorado quarterback and current Cleveland Browns rookie recently spent a morning at a local Cleveland area high school giving life advice and answering the younger generation's questions. Sanders also talked about his draft slide and how, perhaps, his father and his father's fans were the root cause of all the criticism. Advertisement "They don't care about other people's opinion of you," Sanders said during an interview with "They go based off their own — 99% of hatred [directed at me] is toward pops. And then I'm just his son. But [the kids] didn't grow up in an era where they watched him play. It's just the older generation that does it rather than the younger people. Because when I come in person, there's no negativity I see. But it's all over online." A big reason why Sanders is excited to immerse himself in the Cleveland and NFL communities is that he can shape his own narrative, one that does not start with his dad. "That's why I like going [to schools] in person and actually meeting them, and any questions they have, I say, 'Just ask me whatever question you want. Pick any question. No filter, no anything.' That's what they say. And then I just answer whatever they need me to answer." Sanders' draft process was anything but smooth. The three-day wait included him getting passed over multiple times by quarterback-needy teams and a cruel prank call from a college student imitating New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis. Advertisement Cleveland Browns rookie minicamp finished up earlier this month, and Sanders seems to have moved on from the draft. His sole focus is on winning the four-man quarterback battle in Cleveland. Follow Charlie Strella on X, Threads, and Instagram. Contact/Follow us @BuffaloesWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook for ongoing coverage of Colorado news, notes and opinions. This article originally appeared on Buffaloes Wire: Shedeur Sanders NFL draft slide criticism due to Deion Sanders
