Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin nearly lost his life but today, he is continuing his career in the NFL amid his latest contract extension.
When safety Damar Hamlin first spoke at a press conference after his cardiac arrest in January 2023,
he declared “it’s not the end my story” amid his intent to continue his football career.
Less than two years later, he’s a starter with the Buffalo Bills where he officially re-signed for another season. The Bills made it official on Wednesday when the former sixth-round pick, known for his comeback from an on-field cardiac arrest, signed a one-year extension. Hamlin previously had a four-year,
$3.64 million rookie contract with the team.
In January 2023, Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest during a Monday Night Football game against the Cincinnati Bengals, which got called off after the incident in the first quarter. Medical personnel revived Hamlin on the field, and he was treated at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. It elicited a national response of prayer and support for Hamlin in the process.
“First and foremost, I’m blessed,” Hamlin told
the TODAY show in June 2024. “You know, I’m focused. I feel my best I’ve ever felt. I’m locked in and ready for the season.”
Hamlin recovered and returned to football in the 2023 season but he took a backup role. He played sparingly in five games that year where he tallied a pair of tackles amid
17 defensive snaps and 94 special teams snaps.
Hamlin played his first game back from the medical incident on October 3, 2023, in front of a home crowd at Highmark Stadium. Before the season, he presented the Pat Tillman Award for Service to the team’s training staff in July 2023.
“By the grace of God and divine intervention, we had the best outcome we could have prayed for or imagined,” Bills head athletic trainer Nate Breske said in the
award acceptance speech. “It was a massive army of specialists who came together on and off the field to do their jobs that night. That team includes the Bills and Bengals athletic training and medical staffs, equipment managers, player engagement personnel, mental health clinicians, chaplains, security, on-field first responders, the paramedics, and the entire medical staff at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.”
“We also want to acknowledge the Bills and Bengals owners, the leadership team, the coaches, and players for helping navigate the challenges that we faced as a team that night and the days following the event,” Breske continued.
Hamlin became a starter again in 2024 amid 14 starts, and he tallied 89 tackles, two interceptions, a fumble recovery, and five pass deflections. Hamlin stepped up in the playoffs with a forced fumble against Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson. That set up a touchdown for the Bills in a 27–25 AFC Divisional Round victory in January.
“It’s one thing to come back off of an ACL or a broken bone, it’s another thing to come back off of what he came back off of,” Bills head coach Sean McDermott
told reporters in September 2024. “I don’t think I need to say anything more.”
Off the field, Hamlin continues to be an advocate for heart health and safety with his Chasing M’s Foundation and beyond.
“CPR is a super power,” Hamlin told TODAY during his appearance on behalf of the American Heart Association. “I just want everyone to be able to be afforded the same opportunity that I was for a situation to go perfectly and directly how it’s supposed to.”
“It’s extremely important. It makes all the difference. That’s why I’m advocating for a nation of lifesavers for everyone to learn CPR and know the direct steps—to call 911, to perform CPR, and use an AED if one is on hand,” Hamlin added.
