Dolphins Cancer Challenge unites team with community and keeps breaking fundraising records

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Get to know some of the stories for participants at Dolphins Cancer Challenge, and you’ll quickly understand why the NFL’s leading fundraising event by any one team keeps growing and breaking records every year.

Take 9-year-old Camden Katz, for one.

He was diagnosed with a rare childhood cancer, rhabdomyosarcoma, in November. Receiving treatment at Alex’s Place at University of Miami Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, he saw a sign about DCC, which took place for the 15th year Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium.

Katz was intrigued by the event. His parents decided to start a team, originally anticipating maybe 10 people join to raise money for cancer research and awareness.

They ended up with more than 100 participants getting involved, raising more than $62,000 as of Saturday evening. With his team gaining rapid momentum since November, the Dolphins took notice late last season, and tight end Jonnu Smith even went up to Boca Raton to see Katz and invite him to a practice late last season.

That’s just one group of several to contribute this year to the event, once again, breaking records with more than 7,300 participants and the Dolphins expecting to raise more than $14 million by this year’s cutoff of March 13. That would top last year’s previous best of $12 million.

Participants raise funds online at DolphinsCancerChallenge.com and, on Saturday, they took part in cycling rides of various distances ranging from 13 to 99 miles or could run or walk 5 kilometers.

The 9-year-old Katz completed the 5K course on Saturday.

“He’s still in active treatment, and he came out here and walked a 5K,” said Liz Jenkins, executive chair of the DCC and widow of late Dolphins executive Jason Jenkins, who always held Saturday’s event near and dear to his heart. “There’s so many great stories.”

But there are also interactions that serve as reminders as to why it’s all being done.

“Sometimes, we have interactions with people who don’t make it, and that’s really hard and really sort of refocuses us that we need to find a cure for this,” Jenkins said.

Several current Dolphins players got involved this year, including many who have only been with the team one season. Among the participants: tackle Patrick Paul, center Aaron Brewer, outside linebackers Emmanuel Ogbah and Quinton Bell and cornerback Siran Neal.

Dolphins players who completed cycling their distances stopped at the finish line to hand out medals to fans who did the same and interacted with them.

“There’s nowhere else you can have that happen,” Jenkins said.

Former Dolphins wide receiver Mack Hollins, a free agent this offseason after spending 2024 with the Buffalo Bills, returned again to participate in the 99-mile bike ride. No, the amicable receiver who was last on the 2021 Dolphins team didn’t do it barefoot, as he’s often seen when making his attention-grabbing stadium entrances or pregame workouts.

For some Dolphins players, this was an important cause due to personal experiences that have hit close to home.

“I had a grandma that died in ‘03 of cancer,” Neal said. “So I was just coming out here and supporting everybody, putting a smile on everybody’s face, showing them that we are all equal. I’m not above anybody.”

Said Paul: “I lost a loved one to cancer. With that, it does have a soft spot in my heart, so as soon as they told me, I was here. I said cancel everything. I’m here.”

Dolphins linebacker Jordyn Brooks didn’t ride to protect the wrist he had surgery on, but he came out Saturday to join players in handing out medals.

“I don’t have anybody personally that I know that’s dealt with cancer, but we all know the severity of it,” Brooks said. “I do have a heart for people who struggle with that, have struggled with it, lost family members for it. That was part of my reasoning for showing up (Saturday) and doing my little part.”

Those new to the team were floored by how big the event truly was once they were actually on the stadium grounds and saw the thousands coming in and out to either participate or support loved ones.

“Not everybody does these types of things, this big, this magnitude,” Brooks said. “As long as I’m here, I’ll always try to be involved in something like this.

“It shows a more human side of this organization and the people within it. … It shows that people care.”

Added Paul: “I was shocked. This is insane in a great way.”

Brooks also enjoyed comparing his teammates’ performances on their bike rides to those of the non-NFL-athlete regular folks out there.

“The funniest thing was seeing some of our football players actually come in last,” he said, jokingly calling out Bell and linemen Paul and Brewer.

“We see a lot of elderly women and elderly men finish before them, so I thought that was pretty funny.”

Brewer notes Brooks didn’t have the context of starting groups they were in, but that’s not to say the 295-pound center didn’t have his struggles with the 13-mile bike ride, a number which is such for Dolphins great quarterback Dan Marino’s jersey number.

“I’m good now. I recovered,” Brewer said. “I came across the finish line, nose running, eyes crying.”

That said, Brewer also felt he could go for 39, the next cycling distance, representing legendary fullback Larry Csonka’s jersey number.

“I seen a guy come up behind me, trying to keep up with me. He was like, ‘Yeah, it’s not so easy, huh?’ ” Neal recalled

That motivated Neal to pick up his pace and leave him in the dust.

“I think (Saturday) was our version of our Super Bowl,” said Jenkins of the off-the-field impact the Dolphins have in the community. “It was an amazing day. We broke money records, including participants. … Today was just an amazing day to see people come together and support the community. We are an annual event for people to celebrate and to honor the people that passed, as well as raise money for cancer (research), so nobody else will have to go through this again.”