NFL Vice President of Football Communications Mike Signora, who serves as one of the main conduits between the league office and the media that covers the NFL on a daily basis, has been selected as the 2013 Jack Horrigan Award winner by the Professional Football Writers of America (PFWA).
NFL VP of Football Communications Mike Signora was selected as the PFWA’s 2013 Jack Horrigan Award winner. (Photo Credit: Dave Drapkin)
Signora, the 40th Horrigan Award winner, is the first NFL communications staff member since 2007 and the fifth NFL communications employee to receive the honor from the PFWA. The NFL now has three Horrigan Award winners on staff as Signora joins Senior Advisor to the Commissioner Joe Browne (1985) and Senior Vice President of Communications Greg Aiello (1999).
The Horrigan Award is given to the league or club official for his or her qualities and professional style in helping the pro football writers do their job. The award is named for Horrigan, who was a sportswriter for UPI and the Buffalo Evening News, public relations director for the American Football League (1963-66) and vice president of public relations for the Buffalo Bills (1966-73).
Signora oversees all football publicity efforts for the league along with directing media operations for all NFL events, including the Super Bowl and the NFL Draft. After interning with the NFL for three summers during his undergraduate studies at Penn State, he joined the league office as a communications assistant in June 1996 after graduation. He served as the coordinator of corporate communications and international affairs and NFC information manager before he was named director of media relations and international communications in 2006. Signora was promoted to his current position in 2010.
“Michael has been an advocate for fair and open access in the NFL,” said PFWA President emeritus Mark Gaughan of the Buffalo News. “He has worked in a highly professional manner in helping administer the NFL media relations policy, always with respect for all parties involved. The league now posts its transactions daily on its media website, and it lists play counts for all players in the statistical packet for each game. These are two of many examples of him trying to help reporters get worthwhile information to fans.”
ABOUT THE PFWA: The Professional Football Writers of America (PFWA) is the official voice of pro football writers, promoting and fighting for access to NFL personnel to best serve the public. The PFWA is made up of accredited writers who cover the NFL and the 32 teams on a daily basis. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s D. Orlando Ledbetter, who covers the Atlanta Falcons, is the organization’s president for 2013-15. Follow the PFWA on Twitter at @PFWAwriters.
JACK HORRIGAN AWARD WINNERS (To the league or club official for his or her qualities and professional style in helping the pro football writers do their job): 1974 – John Breen (Houston Oilers); 1975 – O.J. Simpson (Buffalo Bills); 1976 – Floyd Little (Denver Broncos); 1977 – Jerry Wynn (San Diego Chargers); 1978 – Bob Peck (Denver Broncos); 1979 – John Madden (Oakland Raiders); 1980 – Bum Phillips (Houston Oilers); 1981 – Bob Sprenger (Kansas City Chiefs); 1982 – Joe Gordon (Pittsburgh Steelers); 1983 – Archie Manning (New Orleans Saints); 1984 – Art Rooney (Pittsburgh Steelers); 1985 – Joe Browne (NFL); 1986 – Dick Steinberg (New England Patriots); 1987 – Charlie Dayton (Atlanta Falcons); 1988 – Art Modell (Cleveland Browns); 1989 – Tom Landry (Dallas Cowboys); 1990 – George Young (New York Giants); 1991 – Jim Finks (New Orleans Saints); 1992 – John Robinson (Los Angeles Rams); 1993 – Warren Moon (Houston Oilers); 1994 – Don Shula (Miami Dolphins); 1995 – Leslie Hammond (NFL); 1996 – Ron Wolf (Green Bay Packers); 1997 – Don Smith (Pro Football Hall of Fame); 1998 – Tony Dungy (Tampa Bay Buccaneers); 1999 – Greg Aiello (NFL); 2000 – Ernie Accorsi (New York Giants); 2001 – Jeff Fisher (Tennessee Titans); 2002 – Charley Casserly (Houston Texans); 2003 – Herman Edwards (New York Jets); 2004 – Ozzie Newsome (Baltimore Ravens); 2005 – Rich McKay (Atlanta Falcons); 2006 – Floyd Reese (Tennessee Titans); 2007 – Steve Alic (NFL); 2008 – Mike Holmgren (Seattle Seahawks); 2009 – Dan Rooney (Pittsburgh Steelers); 2010 – Gil Brandt (NFL.com); 2011 – Rex Ryan (New York Jets); 2012 – Thomas Dimitroff (Atlanta Falcons); 2013 – Mike Signora (NFL).