More than 800 business, community, and civic leaders, humanitarians, celebrities, and philanthropists convened tonight for The Buoniconti Fund to Cure Paralysis’ 39th Annual Great Sports Legends Dinner to celebrate some of the most accomplished Hall of Fame and World Champion athletes in their respective sports.

More importantly, they came to reaffirm their stalwart commitment to raising funds for traumatic spinal cord and brain injury and neurodegenerative disorders and diseases, including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Multiple Sclerosis, ALS, and Stroke. Indeed, they raised several million dollars for The Buoniconti Fund to Cure Paralysis, the fundraising arm of The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, a Center for Excellence at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

This year’s honorees were: Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series Champion Jimmie Johnson; seven-time Cy Young Award-winning pitcher Roger Clemens; New York Rangers Stanley Cup champion and Hockey Hall of Famer Henrik Lundqvist; four-time Pro Bowler, Pro Football Hall of Fame tight end Tony Gonzalez; NBA champion, nine-time All-Star, and Basketball Hall of Famer Gary Payton; three-time Olympic Gold Medalist beach volleyball player Kerri Walsh Jennings; WNBA champion, two-time Olympic Gold Medalist, and Basketball Hall of Famer Tamika Catchings; four-time Grand Slam singles champion tennis player Arantxa Sánchez Vicario; and Hall of Fame jockey and multiple Kentucky Derby winner Johnny Velazquez.

Music icon, philanthropist, eight-time Grammy Award Winner and Presidential Medal of Freedom honoree Gloria Estefan, whose connection to The Buoniconti Fund dates back more than three decades when she suffered a severe spinal cord injury in a tour bus accident, was the Mistress of Ceremonies for the event.

The Buoniconti Fund also honored beloved sports agent Leigh Steinberg with the prestigious The Buoniconti Fund Humanitarian Award and distinguished philanthropist Ray Chambers was awarded The Christine E. Lynn Champion for a Cure Award. The event also featured a live performance by three-time Grammy Award winner and 2024 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Kool & the Gang.

In honor of their son, Bill Ryan, Jr., Susan and Bill Ryan and the Ryan family are donating $1.5 million to name The Bill Ryan, Jr. Laboratory for Scientific Research and Educational Programs. Bill Ryan, Sr. and Nick Buoniconti first met as undergraduates at Notre Dame and found common cause after both of their sons became paralyzed as the result of tragic accidents.

Other VIP guests include: Actor and Star of “The Spiderwick Chronicles” and “Blink Twice” Christian Slater, Grammy Award winning artist Shaggy, “Saturday Night Live” cast member Marcello Hernandez, Grammy Award Winning musician, producer, and entrepreneur Emilio Estefan, Grammy Award-Winning Singer and Songwriter Jon Secada and his daughter, Broadway performer and actress Mikaela Secada, Super Bowl Champion and NFL Hall of Famer Harry Carson, Ten-time Olympic Medalist and Swimming Icon Gary Hall, Jr., World Series Champion and MLB Pitcher Scott Erickson, Actor from “Single Ladies” and “Dancing with the Stars” Aiden Turner, Co-Owner of the New York Islanders Jon Ledecky, Actor from “The Client List” Colin Egglesfield , Hall of Fame Sports Broadcaster Lesley Visser, Olympic fencing medalist Monica Aksamit, 1968 Olympic Long jump Gold Medal winner Bob Beamon, Past NFL offensive lineman and Super Bowl champion Jeff Dellenbach,, Former All-Pro football player Brian Kelley, Jackie and Evan Goldschneider from “The Real Housewives of New Jersey”, SailGP USA Team CEO, Co-Owner & Athlete Mike Buckley, Actor and Star of “The Cutting Edge” DB Sweeney, and more.

“I can’t help but think back to the day I walked on the football field 39 years ago or imagined that I would be here today,” said Marc Buoniconti, Buoniconti Fund President. “I heard someone say once that it’s OK to do what you want to do, until you find out what you were meant to do. As I made that tackle, my destiny of playing in the NFL faded away, but just like anyone who faces hardships in their lives, we can quit and bury ourselves in self-pity and self-blame, or we can use it as an opportunity to embrace one’s true destiny. I now know that my true destiny is to find a cure for paralysis and change the lives of millions around the world, and that destiny is one I fully embrace. Tonight’s contributions will allow The Miami Project to continue its pioneering paralysis and neurological disease research with the goal of finding a cure.”

The high-profile dinner, presented by The Tudor Group and The Mack family, annually attracts a veritable “Who’s Who” of sports legends, celebrities, philanthropists, corporate leaders and influential notables from New York and Miami.

Chaired by Mark Dalton and co-chaired by Reed Mack and Richard Gray, the Great Sports Legends Dinner benefits The Buoniconti Fund to Cure Paralysis, the fundraising arm of The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis. The event also featured a spectacular silent auction (https://one.bidpal.net/gsld24/browse/all), which included one-of-a-kind autographed sports memorabilia, travel and experiences, electronics, autographed memorabilia, “kidz korner”, magnificent jewelry, and much more.

The Buoniconti Fund was founded 39 years ago by NFL Hall of Fame linebacker Nick Buoniconti, captain of the 1972 Miami Dolphins, still the only team in NFL history to go undefeated in a season. He co-founded The Miami Project with renowned neurosurgeon Barth Green, M.D., to help find a cure for his son Marc, who was paralyzed in a collegiate football game. Over the past 39 years, The Buoniconti Fund has honored more than 400 sports legends and humanitarians and has raised more than $130 million for The Miami Project’s spinal cord injury research programs.

About The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis and The Buoniconti Fund

In 1985, Barth A. Green, M.D., world-renowned neurosurgeon, and Nick Buoniconti, NFL Hall of Fame linebacker, joined forces and founded The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis after Nick’s son, Marc, sustained a spinal cord injury during a college football game. Since then, research at The Miami Project has changed the landscape of knowledge and therapeutic strategies for spinal cord injury and traumatic brain injury.

Committed to finding a cure for paralysis resulting from spinal cord injury and to seeing millions worldwide walk again, the Buoniconti family established The Buoniconti Fund to Cure Paralysis in 1992. The Buoniconti Fund is a non-profit organization whose mission is to raise funds and awareness to help The Miami Project achieve its primary focus; to repair and restore function to the injured and diseased nervous system, thereby improving the quality of life to patients throughout the world.

The Miami Project, a Center of Excellence at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, is considered one of the premier research programs conducting cutting-edge discovery, translational and clinical investigations. Researchers are developing new treatments for traumatic spinal cord and brain injury, peripheral nerve injury and neurodegenerative disorders including Parkinson’s disease, Multiple Sclerosis, ALS, and Alzheimer’s disease. The Miami Project’s international team of over 175 scientists, researchers, clinicians and support staff is dedicated to improving the quality of life and, ultimately, finding a cure for paralysis. Miami Project researchers are currently conducting clinical studies and trials in spinal cord injury, including testing neuroprotective strategies, cellular therapies using Schwann cell and stem cell transplantation and advanced rehabilitation and neuromodulation approaches including the use of brain machine interface technologies. Other areas of current research include drug discovery for axonal regeneration and immune modulation, neuropathic pain, male fertility and cardiovascular disorders.