SAN FRANCISCO – Budda Baker doesn't talk much on the field, and when he considers that he was named the winner of this year's Art Rooney Sportsmanship award, he also isn't going to be verbose.
The veteran Pro Bowl safety just does what he does.
"I've always played football the way I have played," Baker said Thursday night, after receiving the award during NFL Honors at the Palace of Fine Arts. "Ever since little league, I'm that person who tries to fly around, make hits, make tackles, create opportunities for us to win but also play football at a high level. Accolades and awards, that can come with that."
Baker becomes the second Cardinal to win the award. Larry Fitzgerald was the first player to win it when the award debuted in 2014. Calais Campbell also won the award in 2022 when he was playing for the Ravens.
It was the third straight year Baker was a finalist for the award, given to the player who "best demonstrates the qualities of on-field sportsmanship, including fair play, respect for the game and opponents, an integrity in competition."
"It just kind of goes to show that I'm just trying to play football the right way and try and do the right thing," Baker said. "I want to be a great player but also a great person on and off the field."
That play leaves an impression. Star tight end George Kittle, who sees Baker twice a year with the 49ers, once said Baker was one of his favorite players.
"One hundred and twenty percent energy on every single play, never takes a snap off," Kittle told NFL Films. "And he is going to hit the heck out of you, and he is going to chase you down. When you go against guys like that, you have to be so dialed in on every single play, because on any snap he can completely change the game."
Sportsmanship is hard to quantify statistically, but in the last five seasons, the physical Baker has been penalized just four times in 4,911 snaps – all while piling up 550 total tackles, 4½ sacks, 26 tackles for loss, six interceptions, 24 passes defensed and two forced fumbles.
In six of his nine seasons, Baker has had just one penalty.
"There's a few secondary guys over the years where you're like, 'I gotta know where this guy is at before the snap,'" quarterback Aaron Rodgers said before a game against the Cardinals in 2024. "(Troy) Polamalu was always like that, Ed Reed was always like that. (Charles Woodson) I felt like was always that kind of guy, Ronde Barber was that kinda guy, Harrison Smith in Minnesota forever cause he's such a great disguiser and all over the place. Budda is one of those guys you gotta know where he's at."
That's something Baker wants to be. As a sportsman, he doesn't see himself as special. When the game begins, the opponent is just the opponent.
"During the game I'm one of those guys who doesn't talk," Baker said. "The other team, they might be complimenting me or saying good things about me and I just ignore it. I just play football.
"When the game is over, that's when I have my conversations with players from the other team."
