Here's why Chiefs' Ashton Gillotte embraces 'showing love' to veterans
Faith, family helped shape Gillotte's commitment to giving back
Veterans Day provides an opportunity for the country to express gratitude to past and current warriors in uniform.
The federal holiday, which falls on Nov. 11, is also special to those who raised their right hand and swore an oath to defend the nation.
Chiefs rookie defensive end Ashton Gillotte understands the importance of the occasion.
In fact, the segment of the population who either served or currently serve in the military are often on Gillotte’s mind.
So much so that he decided to do something about it with some of his Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) money while playing at the University of Louisville.
Gillotte donated proceeds of his NIL earnings to charitable causes, including those focused on veterans.
“Just showing love that way,” Gillotte told KC Sports Network.
WHY IT’S IMPORTANT
Media and fans likely first became aware of the 22-year-old Gillotte’s generosity during Chiefs rookie minicamp when he addressed reporters on May 3, days after the 2025 NFL Draft.
What he said came from the heart.
“A lot of it comes down to my faith and really a calling I feel like God put on me,” Gillotte explained then. “I don’t need half the things – I’m grateful with what I have, so whatever I can give back, I’ll give back. My mom ingrained that in me, my pastors ingrained that in me, and my youth group leaders.
“For me, it’s been a calling, especially for veterans, like, veterans was a big thing for me. Homelessness, that’s another thing. If I can give back in any way, I feel like that’s what you’re supposed to do, especially when you get into these positions.”
The coverage of Gillotte giving back to the community started while he was in school, notably an August 2024 interview with ESPN Louisville to discuss his Salute to Service initiative.
A little more than a year later, Gillotte recently spent time with KC Sports Network in the Chiefs’ locker room to reinforce previous comments on why he elected to reach out to the military community while in college.
Gillotte pointed out he comes from a military family, with his father previously serving as a Marine and his uncle serving in the Army.
The rookie defensive end said he also has friends who attended the United States Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., and the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md.
Lastly, Fort Knox, Ky., home of the Army’s V Corps and Human Resources Command, among other tenant units, is less than an hour away from the University of Louisville.
Add it all together, and Gillotte felt bringing veterans to home football games was a natural thing to do.
“In the past, we used to give like 5,000 tickets to people at Fort Knox,” Gillotte said. “I had a lot of military family – all branches – and to me that was one of the biggest things, like how you can give back and give back to people in your area if maybe in driving distance, you want to come see a game.
“That was kind of the way I went about it was trying to do ticket matches to get fans involved, trying to get basically veterans and some people whoever wanted to do it.”
Gillotte also ensured veterans who went to Louisville football games weren’t relegated to seats far away from the action.
He wanted the special guests to enjoy the atmosphere up close.
“We would buy x-number of tickets in this area of the stadium, trying to make sure it wasn’t the nosebleed sections, so good seats,” he said.
Outside of the ticket-matching initiative, Gillotte said he extended his reach to veterans through food banks.
His generosity hasn’t gone unnoticed.
Retired Army Sgt. 1st Class Amanda Prier, a lifetime member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and former quartermaster of VFW Post 56 in Leavenworth, Kan., certainly appreciates what Gillotte has done.
“Knowing Gillotte, who plays for my favorite team, makes donations to such organizations is unique to me because I know how important they are and what help they can provide veterans all over the world,” Prier told KC Sports Network. “What it says to me about him is that he respects the sacrifices that us veterans make.
“And even though he isn’t a veteran himself, this is how he serves and gives back to those who do. And for that, this Army veteran is truly thankful.”
ALMOST A DIFFERENT UNIFORM
Gillotte, the Chiefs’ third-round pick (66th overall) in the 2025 NFL Draft, has shown he’s more than good enough to play football at a high level.
He enjoyed a productive collegiate career, recording 131 total tackles (40.5 for a loss), 26.5 sacks, four forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries. He garnered a first-team All-ACC selection in 2023, a second-team All-ACC selection in 2024, and was a three-time All-ACC Academic selection.
But wearing a football uniform wasn’t always on Gillotte’s radar while growing up.
He often read military-related books as a youngster, and he enjoyed the critically acclaimed movie, “American Sniper”, which focused on former Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle.
The structure and discipline of the military’s way of life, especially when it came to the SEALs, appealed to Gillotte.
“The core principles and all the stuff that I saw about the SEALs was super cool, and what they do is obviously very hush-hush, but it’s also very high skilled, very disciplined, and there’s a lot of respect for those people,” Gillotte said. “I was reading a lot of books, like ‘Lone Survivor’ all that stuff just because to me it was interesting.
“I researched how grueling the process is, and I thought if I can make it through that, then I could do a lot of things.”
Gillotte said his father, however, encouraged a different path, one that resulted in Gillotte becoming a 3-star recruit out of high school before he secured an athletic scholarship at Louisville.
“I used to think I was going to be a SEAL,” Gillotte said. “My dad was like, ‘You’re good at football; do football. Focus on what you have right now, and then if that’s the (last) resort, then go do that, go chase that.’”
‘I’D DO THAT’
Kansas City is currently Gillotte’s home, and the Chiefs are in the middle of the 2025 regular season.
While he’s a busy man helping the Chiefs win games, Gillotte said he’s given thought to eventually reaching out to specific veteran groups, such as the Wounded Warriors Project.
“It’s just about figuring out which one works,” he said.
Gillotte shouldn’t have to look too far to find a potential fit if he wants to stay local.
There are military-related organizations in the Kansas City metro area, which is home to the National WWI Museum and Memorial and the VFW National Headquarters.
“If there’s an opportunity to work with them, I’d do that,” Gillotte said. “Show love in anyway because especially when people come back, it’s a big thing.”
Whatever Gillotte has in mind will need to wait until after the regular season, and perhaps the postseason because of the Chiefs’ track record of making deep runs in January and early February.
But the local veteran community, including retired Army Maj. Jeffrey Fox, former commander of VFW Post 7365 in Parkville, Mo., would likely welcome Gillotte’s efforts.
“Personally, I have always admired those in the public eye who take the time, particularly athletes who have limited free time, but are still motivated to use that little time to go out of their way to help others in need, especially veterans,” Fox told KC Sports Network. “God bless Ashton and his family for their continued support of those who raised their hands to defend our nation.”
