KANSAS CITY, Mo – Today, Chiefs Chairman and CEO Clark Hunt announced longtime NFL journalist and three-time American Sportswriter of the Year Peter King as the recipient for the 2026 Lamar Hunt Award for Professional Football.
King was honored at the annual Chiefs Kickoff Luncheon hosted by the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce.
"For more than 40 years, Peter King has told some of the greatest stories football has to offer," Hunt said. "His columns were required reading for a generation of football fans, and his reporting opened doors for so many to learn our game, and fall in love with it. My father believed that the growth of the game is reliant upon visionary leaders, innovators, and storytellers who connect with fans. So today my family and I are honored to celebrate Peter's tremendous career, and recognize his contributions to the sport we love."
In 1989, King joined Sports Illustrated as a staff writer after nearly a decade as a reporter for the Cincinnati Enquirer (1980-85) and Newsday (1985-89). While at Sports Illustrated, he launched the "Monday Morning Quarterback" column, a weekly breakdown of the weekend's NFL contests, which became one of the most popular columns in sports journalism. Following his departure from Sports Illustrated in 2021 after 29 years, King moved to NBC Sports where he authored his "Football Morning in America" column. Additionally, King has appeared as a commentator and TV talk show host, including a brief stint as a halftime analyst for ABC's Monday Night Football during the 1994 and 1995 seasons.
"It's humbling to accept an honor from this class organization, and even more humbling because the award is named for Lamar Hunt," King said. "In 40 years covering the NFL, I didn't meet a man I respected more than Lamar Hunt."
As an author, King has written six books, including his 2026 release, "The Game," which features 40 short stories centered around defining moments and behind-the-scenes reporting throughout his career. In February 2024, the Springfield, Mass., native retired after 44 years of covering the NFL and currently resides in Brooklyn, N.Y., with his wife, Ann. King graduated from Ohio University's E.W. Scripps School of Journalism in 1979.
Since 2008, the Lamar Hunt Award for Professional Football has been awarded to an individual or group who contributed to the growth of the National Football League into the preeminent professional sports league in America. Winners are chosen based on five primary factors including vision, humble leadership, integrity, fan dedication, and innovation, the values and ideas Lamar Hunt lived by. For more information about the Lamar Hunt Award, please visit www.chiefs.com/lamarhuntaward.
Lamar Hunt Award for Professional Football Recipients:
2008 – The Foolish Club – The Original Eight Owners of the AFL
2009 – Tony Dungy – Pro Football Hall of Fame Head Coach
2010 – Monday Night Football
2011 – NFL Films
2012 – Roger Staubach – Pro Football Hall of Fame Quarterback
2013 – Don Shula – Pro Football Hall of Fame Head Coach
2014 – Len Dawson – Pro Football Hall of Fame Quarterback and Broadcaster
2015 – Paul Tagliabue – NFL Commissioner (1986-2006)
2016 – Super Bowl I
2017 – Al Michaels – Emmy Award-Winning Broadcaster
2018 – Peyton Manning – Pro Football Hall of Fame Quarterback
2019 – Super Bowls III and IV
2020 – Bart Starr – Pro Football Hall of Fame Quarterback
2021 – No Award Presented
2022 – No Award Presented
2023 – John Madden, Pro Football Hall of Fame Head Coach and Emmy Award-Winning Broadcaster
2024 – Chris Berman – Emmy Award-Winning Broadcaster
2025 – No Award Presented
