Damar Hamlin Was All Smiles On FaceTime With Meek Mill, A Beautiful Sight After He Suffered Cardiac Arrest

Before football fans everywhere learned of Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin, he had founded a brand and non-profit organization — both named Chasing Millions. One of his clothing designs boasted the phrase, “Love Me B4 They All Do.” The 24-year-old Pittsburgh native never could have imagined that he’d become a household name by suffering cardiac arrest on the field during the first quarter of last week’s Monday Night Football matchup between the Bills and Cincinnati Bengals, and Hamlin probably prefers it didn’t happen this way, but he also doesn’t intend to waste his newfound platform.

Since last week, Hamlin’s annual Chasing M’s toy drive has received over $8.5 million in donations as he slowly recovers in the ICU at the UC Medical Center in Cincinnati. By Thursday, January 5, Hamlin had awoken and “demonstrated that he appears to be neurologically intact.” The doctors caring for him held a press conference later in the day and additionally relayed that Hamlin had been able to communicate via written word, and the first thing he did was ask, “Did we win?”

Hamlin’s lungs were healed enough to have his breathing tube removed on Friday, January 6, allowing him to FaceTime his Bills teammates and tell them he loved them. The following day, Hamlin soaked up love from Meek Mill and Michael Rubin — like Hamlin, they’re known for their philanthropic efforts — on Saturday, January 7. Rubin tweeted that the call “made my year.”

The NFLPA separately shared an Instagram Reel recapping all of the league-wide tributes, appropriately soundtracked by Meek Mill’s “Hot” featuring Moneybagg Yo and reposted by Meek to his Instagram Story.

Saturday also saw Hamlin post his first public messages since the near-fatal event, which continued into Sunday, January 8, when the Bills defeated the New England Patriots in their regular-season finale. Hamlin watched the game from his hospital bed. He announced newly designed “Did We Win?” tees, with the proceeds going toward first responders and the UC Trauma Center.

See some of Hamlin’s recent posts below.

Meek Mill is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.