HOWARD – When the Luke Combs tour asked AJ Dillon if he wanted to join Packers players onstage to shotgun a beer during the first night of the country superstar’s two concerts at Lambeau Field, he knew he was up for it.
“Man, I’ve lived in Wisconsin for five years. I can chug a beer. This is nothing,” the former Packers running back said.
For Dillon, now with the Carolina Panthers, getting to be part of a May weekend that drew 92,540 music fans to the stadium was an “awesome experience,” but one of the best parts came a month later.
On June 24 at Howard Commons Activity Complex, Dillon presented a donation of $10,925 to Families of Children with Cancer from a livestream he did with Combs while he was in Green Bay for the My Kinda Saturday Night Tour.
A fellow avid trading card collector, Dillon joined Combs for his “Packs with a Purpose” livestream. The two talked football and fatherhood and raised $21,850 through the opening and auctioning off of hundreds of trading cards on Fanatics Collect. The money was split evenly between the Dillon Family Foundation that Dillon and his wife, Gabrielle, founded in 2024 and Families of Children with Cancer, a Green Bay nonprofit that supports families who have a child who has been diagnosed with cancer in northeastern Wisconsin and Upper Michigan.
“Super cool to be able to do that,” Dillon said of hanging with Combs. “And then on the flip side, not just a cool experience, but also turn that into a way to give back. It’s a win-win all around. I had fun. I assume he had fun, and we were able to provide kids with some fun.”
The money will be used for things like gift cards, gas cards and grocery cards or to help pay for social events like Christmas parties or fishing trips that give kids and parents a break from dealing with cancer, said Robb Collard, president of Families of Children with Cancer.
“There’s always a need somewhere,” he said.
Twelve-year-old Jordan Rodriguez, of Green Bay, was among several children on hand at Howard Commons who received signed Dillon trading cards and grabbed a photo with him. The two also threw the football around, with Dillon going long for a pass in the pavilion.
Rodriguez was 5 when he was diagnosed with leukemia and is now five years cancer-free. He also happens to be “the biggest Packer fan ever.”
“It was really fun,” he said of getting to play football with Dillon, “and I’m very grateful for it, because you don’t get to do this every day.”
Dillon remembers what a big deal it was when college players would come by pee wee football camp when he was a kid, so he’s happy to do similar kinds of interaction.
“I just think sometimes if you have some time like during this offseason period, that little catch, that makes these kids’ day. If you give them the football, maybe that’s the thing that propels them to love it,” he said.
The Dillons gave back through their foundation, which focuses on food insecurity, in Philadelphia when he played for the Eagles and plan to do the same in Charlotte, North Carolina, now that he’s a Panther, but Green Bay and all it has given their family remains front of mind in their efforts.
“Without the Green Bay Packers, I don’t meet my wife, I don’t start the foundation, I don’t have a family. So you’ve got to appreciate everything that comes with it,” he said. “I still love this community. I’ve still got my house down the road. I still like to go up to Door County, and I’m still going to go to all my favorite spots, and so in doing that, I’m also going to take care of the kids and the community here, too.”
He and Gabrielle and son, Algiers “Trey” Dillon III, spend summers back in Green Bay. He works out in Hobart and then on the weekends they enjoy Door County. The couple is expecting a second child, a girl, later this year.
“I’m like Bob the Builder in the house putting stuff together right now,” Dillon said.
Kendra Meinert is an entertainment and feature writer at the Green Bay Press-Gazette. Contact her at 920-431-8347 or kmeinert@greenbay.gannett.com. Follow her on X @KendraMeinert.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: AJ Dillon on Luke Combs at Lambeau, giving back, summer in Wisconsin
Reporting by Kendra Meinert, Green Bay Press-Gazette / Green Bay Press-Gazette
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Kendra Meinert, Green Bay Press-Gazette | USA TODAY Network
