The Great Sports Legends Dinner returns to New York City on Monday, October 5, bringing together Hall of Famers, world champions, Olympic gold medalists and sports icons for the 41st annual benefit supporting The Buoniconti Fund to Cure Paralysis and The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis.
The 2026 Great Sports Legends Dinner will take place at the New York Hilton Midtown and will recognize an international roster of sports figures while raising awareness and funds for research and treatment of paralysis and neurological diseases and disorders for the Buoniconti Fund to Cure Paralysis.
The event has become an annual gathering point for sports, entertainment, media and philanthropy with more than 800 celebrities and notable guests attending the dinner each year.
Gloria Estefan to Host the Great Sports Legends Dinner
Gloria Estefan will serve as Master of Ceremonies for the 41st Great Sports Legends Dinner.
The nine time Grammy Award winner and Presidential Medal of Freedom honoree will guide an evening that combines sports recognition, entertainment and philanthropy.
The dinner will also feature a special musical performance by Train, the Grammy Award winning pop rock band.
Shane Battier to Receive the Buoniconti Fund Award
Former NBA star Shane Battier will receive The Buoniconti Fund Award for his philanthropic work.
Battier’s addition to the evening connects the dinner’s sports legacy with its central philanthropic mission. The former Duke standout won two NBA championships and an NCAA championship during his playing career and is a member of the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame.
The 2026 Great Sports Legends
The 41st annual dinner will honor athletes and sports figures representing football, snowboarding, boxing, beach volleyball, NASCAR, baseball, basketball, hockey and horse racing.
The 2026 honorees are:
- Rob Gronkowski, four time NFL Super Bowl champion, five time Pro Bowler and four time First Team All Pro
- Shaun White, five time Olympian and three time Olympic gold medalist
- Laila Ali, five time World Boxing Champion and Boxing Hall of Famer
- Misty May Treanor, three time Olympic gold medalist and Beach Volleyball Hall of Famer
- Dale Jarrett, three time Daytona 500 winner, 1999 NASCAR Cup Series champion and NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee
- Andruw Jones, Major League Baseball Hall of Famer, five time All Star and ten time Gold Glove Award winner
- Chris Webber, 1994 NBA Rookie of the Year, five time NBA All Star and 2021 National Basketball Hall of Fame inductee
- Chamique Holdsclaw, six time WNBA All Star and 2023 Basketball Hall of Fame inductee
- Mark Recchi, three time NHL Stanley Cup champion and Hockey Hall of Fame member
- John Randle, Super Bowl champion, seven time Pro Bowler and Pro Football Hall of Fame member
- Edgar Prado, Hall of Fame jockey, three time North American riding champion and the jockey who won the 2006 Kentucky Derby aboard Barbaro
The Mission Behind the Great Sports Legends Dinner
The Great Sports Legends Dinner is the signature fundraising event of The Buoniconti Fund to Cure Paralysis, the fundraising arm of The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.
Funds raised through the event support research into spinal cord injury and other neurological conditions. The Miami Project conducts discovery, translational and clinical research involving traumatic spinal cord and brain injury, peripheral nerve injury and neurological diseases and disorders.
The Miami Project describes itself as a designated Center of Excellence at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. Its research programs address paralysis as well as conditions including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, ALS, multiple sclerosis and stroke.
Marc Buoniconti’s 60th Birthday
The 2026 dinner will also mark the 60th birthday of Marc Buoniconti, the namesake and president of The Buoniconti Fund.
Buoniconti was paralyzed shortly after his 19th birthday during a college football game. His father, NFL Hall of Famer Nick Buoniconti, subsequently made a commitment to finding a cure for paralysis and neurological disease.
Marc Buoniconti has continued that mission through The Buoniconti Fund and its support of The Miami Project.
In a statement released with the 2026 event announcement, Buoniconti reflected on the impact of his injury and the decades of research and fundraising that followed.
“Forty-one years ago, my life changed forever.”
He credited supporters of the Great Sports Legends Dinner with helping advance research into new treatments and potential cures.
A Night Connecting Sports and Philanthropy
The Great Sports Legends Dinner brings together athletes from multiple generations and sporting disciplines.
The 2026 group spans NFL football, Olympic snowboarding, boxing, beach volleyball, NASCAR, Major League Baseball, the NBA, the WNBA, the NHL and thoroughbred racing.
That breadth is central to the event’s identity. Rather than focusing on one league or one sport, the Great Sports Legends Dinner brings different chapters of sports history together around a philanthropic cause.
The evening also includes an auction featuring sports memorabilia, jewelry, travel experiences and other items. Proceeds support The Buoniconti Fund and The Miami Project’s research programs.
Great Sports Legends Dinner 2026: Event Details
Event: 41st Annual Great Sports Legends Dinner
Date: Monday, October 5, 2026
Location: New York Hilton Midtown
Address: 1335 Sixth Avenue, New York, NY
Start time: 5:30 p.m.
Master of Ceremonies: Gloria Estefan
Musical performance: Train
Beneficiary: The Buoniconti Fund to Cure Paralysis
Research organization: The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
Special recognition: Shane Battier, recipient of The Buoniconti Fund Award
2026 honorees: Rob Gronkowski, Shaun White, Laila Ali, Misty May Treanor, Dale Jarrett, Andruw Jones, Chris Webber, Chamique Holdsclaw, Mark Recchi, John Randle and Edgar Prado
For tickets and tables, contact Stephanie Sayfie Aagaard, 305-243-6385, ssayfieaagaard@miami.edu, or visit: www.thebuonicontifund.com/gsld41 .
All photos courtesy The Buoniconti Fund