Mack Hollins is adding another line to a career that has never been limited to what he does on Sundays.
The former UNC wide receiver has been named the NFLPA’s Week 4 Community MVP after putting together a Special Olympics Family Field Day for 125 athletes and their families. Hollins, now with the New England Patriots, fully funded the event himself and helped create an afternoon built around sports stations, food, a photo booth and other activities.
A Special Olympics ambassador, Hollins used his own resources to make the day happen, giving athletes and their families an experience that was as personal as it was hands-on. The recognition from the NFLPA comes with a $10,000 donation to his Find the Feet Foundation, the organization tied to his work supporting individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and promoting inclusion through sports and other activities.
Hollins has long kept his name connected to Special Olympics work, but this event showed that his involvement goes well beyond lending support in passing. He didn’t just show up for the cause - he paid for it and hosted it, giving more than 100 athletes and their families a day centered on connection and activity.
For UNC fans, it’s the latest chapter in a journey that started in Chapel Hill and kept moving from there. Hollins played for North Carolina from 2013-2016, going from walk-on to one of the program’s top receiving threats. He closed his college career with 81 catches for 1,667 yards and 20 touchdowns before the Philadelphia Eagles took him in the fourth round of the 2017 NFL Draft.
Since then, he’s bounced around the league and carved out a lengthy NFL run by doing whatever a team needs. But this latest honor is about something bigger than roster survival or production on the field.
Nearly a decade after his final season at UNC, Hollins is still giving Tar Heel supporters reasons to pull for him. This time, the impact came far away from the stat sheet.
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