Pittsburgh Steelers

Steelers' Moats donates hefty portion of NFL salary to alma mater

Published Nov. 24, 2015 10:49 p.m. ET

foxsports

Steelers linebacker Arthur Moats is giving back to his alma mater in a big way, but he considers it an act of paying it forward rather than a donation.

Moats and his wife handed a check for $300,000 to James Madison University last Saturday, money that will go toward a scholarship program and a new Convocation Center. While the figure represents a significant portion of Moats' annual salary, he was happy to increase his past donations thanks to the 3-year, $7.5 million contract extension he signed this past offseason. He has a $850,000 base salary this season and also took home a $1.9 million signing bonus.

"Getting a new contract this season, I felt like we were able to do more with our contributions this year,” said Moats via Steelers.com. “We always donate to James Madison. I felt like this year I wanted to make a statement and try to get more people aware and enthused about donating back to their colleges, in particular James Madison since it’s my school."

Moats is grateful for the education and opportunity to play football he received at the school, not to mention it's also where he met his future wife, Shonda.

“I loved that school,” Moats said. “I met my wife there, got an amazing college education and it also advanced my football career. It definitely holds a huge place in my heart. It’s my second home.”

He and his wife now budget their money carefully so they can give back to charitable causes they deeply care about. Moats particularly remembers the tough times he endured financially during his student life, and wanted to give back to help those in similar situations now.

"It definitely puts a smile on my face," Moats said via ESPN.com. "I’ve been on the opposite of that, where you're trying to scrounge enough change together to buy from the dollar menu, wondering when the Pell Grant money will kick in. So, [the donation] was a good amount, but when you're paying it forward, it will work out."