M&T Bank, Buffalo Bills to Honor Western New York’s Top Educators

We talk a lot about giving people their flowers, but some of the people who deserve the biggest bouquets are standing in classrooms every day.

Teachers, counselors and teacher’s aides do so much more than teach lessons. They encourage our kids, challenge them, advocate for them and sometimes become the person who sees something special in a child before that child can even see it in themselves.

So, Go Gettas, if you know an educator who has been showing up and making a difference, this is your chance to make sure they get recognized.

M&T Bank and the Buffalo Bills are bringing back their Touchdown for Teachers program, and this year they’re expanding it to recognize even more educators throughout Western New York.

M&T Bank Touchdown Teachers

Instead of one round of recognition, there will be four rounds throughout the school year. Each round will recognize one winning educator who will receive $500 in classroom supplies, a personalized game ball and a classroom visit from a Buffalo Bills player.

And it gets even better.

The four winners will eventually be considered for the grand prize, which includes an additional $5,000 grant for the winner’s school and a personalized Bills jersey.

That’s what I love about programs like this. Yes, we’re celebrating the individual educator, but we’re also putting resources right back into our schools and classrooms.

The program is open to eligible PK-12 teachers, guidance counselors and teacher’s aides across several Western New York counties, including Erie, Niagara, Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua and Genesee, along with Monroe, Livingston, Ontario, Orleans, Wayne, Wyoming and Yates counties.

Round 1 nominations are open through October 7, 2026, with the first winner scheduled to be announced October 9. Additional nomination rounds will happen in November, January and March before grand prize voting begins in April 2027.

Touchdown for Teachers has been around for 18 years, recognizing more than 50 educators and awarding more than $55,000 to Western New York schools. Last year alone, the program received more than 2,600 entries.

That tells me there are a whole lot of great educators out here doing the work.

So don't just tell your favorite teacher you appreciate them, nominate them.

Head to buffalobills.com/teachers and tell their story.

Because when somebody is pouring into our young people every single day, they deserve to know that we see them.