Mark Andrews still remembers watching Jay Cutler sling passes for the Bears… Long before his own NFL breakout, long before he became the guy kids with diabetes now look up to. Cutler, living with Type 1, made it feel possible. That stuck. “I adapted a mindset that this disease is a part of who I am, but it’s not going to define me,” Andrews said. “And it’s never going to stop me from achieving my dreams.”
Now, with over 5,000 yards, 50+ touchdowns, and three Pro Bowls, Andrews has lived that message out loud. And in April 2025, Dexcom handed that mindset to a new generation, launching a nationwide search for college athletes with diabetes to join Season Four of Dexcom U… The only NIL program focused solely on athletes managing this disease daily. For Andrews, who’s played through in-game glucose checks and lived a career around insulin timing, the stakes aren’t theoretical.
So, he showed up. On Signing Day, Andrews teamed with Dexcom in Baltimore for a youth camp tailored to college athletes with diabetes. It wasn’t a photo‑op; it was personal. “It’s something that hits home for me,” he said, quietly powerful in his intent. He wasn’t just there to throw passes. He was there to tell a story, one he’s lived and one that keeps rewriting itself every day.
Ravens TE Mark Andrews and Dexcom are hosting a camp today in Baltimore. It’s part of Dexcom U Signing Day, the only NIL program created for college athletes living with diabetes.
“It’s something that hits home for me,” Andrews said. pic.twitter.com/1BG5bzCOIL
— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiec) July 11, 2025
The TE-Dexcom partnership is not new. In 2024, Dexcom honored him by naming a production line at their Mesa, Arizona facility after him, recognizing his impact on young diabetics and families dealing with the condition. Andrews has also starred in national Dexcom campaigns, urging kids to embrace their diagnosis, not fear it. His message, Diabetes is tough. But so are you.
Last November, he posted a photo on Instagram with a special message during National Diabetes Awareness Month. The caption fit perfectly, “Living with diabetes means constantly adjusting and adapting, but it’s never stopped me, and it never will. With tools like Dexcom G7, I’m reminded every day that I’m not alone”
This is more than NIL. Dexcom U isn’t handing out checks for clout. It’s building credibility, recognition, and real opportunities for these athletes. Andrews isn’t leading because he’s famous. He’s leading because he understands. Because every glucose monitor buzz reminds him, you’re living proof that diabetes doesn’t define your limits.
Mark Andrews defied logic to play football, not to sit on the sideline
Mark Andrews was 9 when he heard the words that would change his life: “You have type 1 diabetes.” He was sitting in a doctor’s office when the news landed. His dad, a urologist, cried. His mom? She was already in action mode. “What do we need to do?” Martha Andrews said. “Let’s get the education and get it done.” Mark didn’t fully get it, but he could feel the weight in the room. And if you know anything about Andrews, you know this…he doesn’t back down when the game gets tough.
His next soccer match? He played through it. With blood sugar near 450 mg/dL, Mark had no interest in sitting out. “Before the first half ends, I have three goals—kick on my right, left foot, whatever it was,” he said. That was defiance. That was a decision. One that told his family, loud and clear, this disease wasn’t going to bench him. “This isn’t going to stop me from doing what I want to do,” he said. That same edge? It’s what’s fueled him ever since. From catching touchdowns at Oklahoma to earning three Pro Bowls and a First-Team All-Pro nod in the NFL.
But the day-to-day isn’t just film rooms and red-zone drills. It’s managing blood sugar like it’s part of the game plan. Type 1 isn’t something you control. You have to manage it. “It is a 24/7 job,” said endocrinology specialist Ashley Cobert. There’s no off button. That’s why the whole Andrews family got in the huddle. Siblings learned insulin shots, teachers got instructions, even the grandparents chipped in. Football may be a team sport, but so is diabetes.
And even when the lights are brightest, the risk doesn’t fade. In the Ravens’ playoff loss to the Bills, Andrews dropped the final two-point conversion. A shot at tying the game…gone. Tough moment? Absolutely. But Lamar Jackson, his quarterback, didn’t let that moment define him. “I talked to him. I went up to him like, ‘Man, we all played a part in this game.’” Because that’s what teammates do. And that’s what this journey has always been for Andrews: not about perfection, but resilience.
Now, he’s the one kids look up to. At camps, in hospitals, over sidelines—he tells them what he lived: “Your dreams don’t end at diagnosis. They begin there.” From Desert Mountain High to NFL Sundays, from glucose checks to game-winning drives, Mark Andrews isn’t rewriting the rules. He’s living proof they never applied to him in the first place.
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