Josh Allen partners with New Balance to fund youth sports in Firebaugh

Image via New Balance Instagram

Before the Buffalo Bills even take the field for the 2025 season, Josh Allen, the NFL’s reigning MVP and Bills quarterback, is already making a significant impact.

Allen announced Friday morning that he is partnering with New Balance to help invest in youth sports in Firebaugh, his hometown.

Allen grew up working on his family’s 3,000-acre farm before his rise to NFL stardom. He said that his roots in the small Fresno County community helped shape his work ethic.

Earlier this week, the University of Wyoming, Allen’s alma mater, announced that it would be retiring Allen’s jersey number.

He wrote that the New Balance community felt like family and like he was coming home.

“My parents, the greatest role models I could ask for, built their lives on those principles and raised my siblings and me the same way. So, when New Balance asked me to come on board, it felt like coming home,” he said.

Through his partnership with New Balance, Allen announced funding for Firebaugh’s community sports program, which is designed to expand access for young athletes, regardless of their ability to pay.

“Firebaugh didn’t have quarterback camps or private trainers. We had heart. We had community. And I wouldn’t trade that for anything,” Allen wrote in his statement.

Allen said his goal is to give young athletes in Firebaugh the same opportunities that he had growing up.

“Whether you’re a kid just picking up a football for the first time or a high schooler grinding through two-a-days, we’re here for you, cheering you on from afar, from Boston, to Buffalo, to Firebaugh,” Allen said.

Allen said the New Balance initiative is his way of giving back to the community that raised him.

“Firebaugh raised me,” Allen said. “Now it’s my turn to give back.”