NFL’s Crucial Catch tops $38 million, nears 1.1 million cancer screenings

The NFL’s Crucial Catch campaign has now generated more than $38 million for cancer screening in under-resourced communities, the league announced on Sunday, October 18, and this season it will pass 1.1 million screenings paid for through the program.

The update arrived as clubs across the league stage their October Crucial Catch games, and it marks steady growth for an initiative now in its 18th season. A year ago, the league put the running total at about $35 million and the number of screenings at more than 840,000, so roughly $3 million and some 260,000 additional screenings have been added in the span of one season.

Crucial Catch has raised more than $38 million through fundraising efforts to support the @AmericanCancer Society’s work to improve cancer screening in under-resourced communities.

The @NFL will mark a major milestone this season, surpassing more than 1.1 million cancer… pic.twitter.com/m5bplIXrAi

— NFL Football Operations (@NFLFootballOps) October 18, 2026

Where the money goes

The dollars are raised by the league and its partners and then directed to the American Cancer Society, which turns them into community grants for health centers serving people with the least access to early detection. Those grants now reach centers in all 32 NFL markets. The funding comes from sales of campaign merchandise, auctions, and other fundraising run by the league and its clubs.

Crucial Catch began in 2009 with a focus on breast cancer and later widened its scope to several types of cancer, with an emphasis on catching the disease early and lowering risk. The program is a joint effort of the league office, the 32 clubs, the players and their union, and the cancer charity. Survival rates for many cancers top 90 percent over five years when the disease is found at an early stage, which is why the campaign concentrates on screening rather than treatment.

The totals have climbed every year. The league reported about $27 million after the campaign’s 15th season and about $30 million after its 16th, before the $35 million figure that followed last season.

On the field this month

Every club dedicates one home game during the campaign to Crucial Catch, with on-field and in-stadium elements and ceremonies honoring survivors and people who are still in treatment. Several of those games are being played this weekend.

What comes next

The league did not say on which date the 1.1 million mark will be reached, only that it will happen during the 2026 season. The campaign’s games are concentrated in October, and fans can follow along as each club holds its dedicated home game in the weeks ahead.