Michael Clark

In 2018 a Pro Bowl receiver told a rookie to go pick up the donuts. The rookie thought it was rookie duty. He has called in that same order every Saturday for eight years, and the man who handed it to him died in 2021. The rookie was Courtland Sutton. The receiver was Demaryius Thomas. In 2018 Thomas was in his ninth season with the Denver Broncos. Five straight Pro Bowls. A Super Bowl ring. One of the best players in franchise history. Sutton was 22 years old and brand new. So when Thomas told him to call a donut shop, place a specific order, go get it and bring it into the building, Sutton did what rookies do. He went and got the donuts. Except that is not what was happening. Thomas had been ordering those donuts himself for years and bringing them in on Saturdays. Not for the players. For the people who work in that building. Here is what he actually said to Sutton. "Hey, like I've been doing this, but I'm going to pass it to you." He was not assigning a chore. He was handing something over. Sutton figured it out. "It was something that I saw brought a lot of joy to people in the building." Eight games into that season, Denver traded Demaryius Thomas to the Houston Texans. Understand who they traded. Thomas went 22nd overall in 2010. On January 8, 2012 he caught an 80 yard overtime touchdown from Tim Tebow against Pittsburgh that ended the game 11 seconds into the extra period, the fastest overtime finish in NFL history. He made five straight Pro Bowls. He won Super Bowl 50. He finished with 724 catches, 9,763 yards and 63 touchdowns. He retired in June of 2021. He died that December. He was 33 years old. And every Saturday since 2018, through the trade and through all of it, Courtland Sutton has called in the donut order. "It felt like it was one of those things that every Saturday I get a chance to call in and order donuts, it's a small, little wink. He's always still around." And this. "He may not be here physically, but he has such a lasting impact that he's not going anywhere from this organization any time soon." Last year the Broncos put Demaryius Thomas in their Ring of Fame. Now be honest about the size of this. It is donuts. It is a phone call that takes 90 seconds and a box of pastries that will be gone by noon. It does not fix anything and it never will. That is exactly why it works. A man who caught 63 touchdowns in this league decided the thing worth passing down was breakfast for the staff. Eight years later somebody is still making the call.