Jon Rhattigan, Seahawks’ 1st West Point graduate, is NFL Salute to Service Award nominee
On Sunday, Jon Rhattigan was sprinting down a football field and making tackles in Baltimore.
On Tuesday, he was shooting an M4 carbine weapon with the 1st Special Forces Group at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.
“I hadn’t done that in a while,” Rhattigan said, smiling.
The first West Point graduate and Army officer to play for the Seahawks was at JBLM this week seeing familiar faces. He was catching up with a couple U.S. Military Academy classmates who are lieutenants. He was learning more about training and leadership in the 1st Special Forces Group (1st SFG), part of the the Army’s 1st Special Forces Command.
Sunday, the day after Veterans Day, Rhattigan’s Seahawks (5-3) host the Washington Commanders (4-5) at Lumen Field. It’s Seattle’s annual Salute to Service game.
Rhattigan, from Naperville, Illinois, is having as a guest at the game: a first sergeant from the 1st SFG. He’s gotten to know him on his visits with the elite unit.
“He’s earned three Purple Hearts,” Rhattigan said, shaking his head at his locker Friday.
The Purple Heart is the hallowed U.S. military medal awarded in the name of the president to those wounded or killed in military conflicts. First awarded in 1932, the Purple Heart is the oldest military award given to U.S. service members.
Rhattigan returned to JBLM as the Seahawks’ nominee for the 13th NFL and USAA Salute to Service Award. The award will be given at the NFL Honors show the weekend of the Super Bowl 58 in Las Vegas. It honors a league member “who demonstrates an exemplary commitment to honoring and supporting the military community,” per the NFL and USAA.
Last year’s winner was Commanders coach Ron Rivera. The 2022 winner was Andrew Beck, a tight end for the Houston Texans and son of Major General Chris Beck, West Point Class of 1993.
Rhattigan, West Point Class of 2021, is in his third season with the Seahawks. They signed him as an undrafted rookie free agent following the NFL draft two years ago.
He’s earned $2.4 million so far in his football career. Yes, that’s a tad better than active-duty infantry lieutenant pay in the Army.
And, yes, he appreciates this opportunity few service academy graduates get.
“I’m thankful,” he said.
Army exception policy for pro sports
Rhattigan was one of 18 semifinalists for the 2021 Bednarik Award, presented annually to the nation’s top college defensive player. Seattle signed the middle linebacker for Army’s Commander-In-Chief’s-Trophy winning team after he applied to the Department of the Army’s pro sports policy. What the military calls a “directive-type memorandum,” signed by then-Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and dated Nov. 8, 2019, stated athletes drafted or signing into a professional league could go into the military’s Individual Ready Reserve instead of onto active duty “until such a time as the Secretary of Defense tenders their appointment as a commissioned officer in a Military Service.”
The policy requires the athletes to eventually fulfill their military obligation, or repay the government the costs of their education. Costs of education and military training at the U.S. Military Academy are estimated at $500,000.
Basically, as long as Rhattigan has an NFL contract his active-duty time as an infantry officer, a second lieutenant, remains on hold.
“It’s really a special opportunity in, really, another form of professional leadership,” Rhattigan told The News Tribune upon Seattle signing him in 2021.
After returning last year from reconstructive knee surgery following an injury covering a kick against the Los Angeles Rams in December of his rookie season of 2021, the Seahawks re-signed him for 2023. Rhattigan was on the practice squad in September and was promoted to play in the first games. The Seahawks then signed him back to the active roster. He’s been a mainstay on their special-teams units and a backup to 33-year-old All-Pro Bobby Wagner at middle linebacker.
“Jon has done a really nice job. He’s improved a good amount from last year,” coach Pete Carroll said. “He did a nice job as a rookie and helping us and played on a bunch of (special) teams, but this year he’s one of the leaders, and he’s one of the most productive guys. He’s just been right in the middle of everything. He’s been a big factor for us.
“Jon can come off the bench and play for us at linebacker, but his (special) teams work has really stood out. He’s on the top of our board as far as production and we’re excited about that.”
Carroll has had Rhattigan plus Naval Academy graduate Keenan Reynolds, a wide receiver who played two games for Seattle in 2018, on recent Seahawks teams.
How has Rhattigan’s military experience aided him in the NFL?
“What I would tell you about Jon is that I don’t recognize any traits in the way he plays or operates that demonstrates he’s anything other than an all-in ballplayer,” Carroll said. “His commitment and his consistency is what you love to see in the service.
“He’s everything you could hope for. And I think that’s what we would love to see and believe that our servicemen are, too. He represents beautifully.
“He’s exactly what you like to see.”
This story was originally published November 11, 2023 at 11:34 AM.
