Utah News

Note to readers • This story was produced in partnership with the Pulitzer Center’s StoryReach U.S. Fellowship.

Kayla Kidd already had a lot on her plate.

Last school year, the University of Utah junior studied criminal justice with an eye toward law school. A descendant of the Ute Indian Tribe, she hopes to one day be a lawyer helping the Uintah and Ouray Reservation, where she grew up.

Then came a request to take on a new assignment: Would she be willing to mentor other Ute students? She quickly said yes.

“I just wanted to make it easier,” Kidd said. “I didn’t really have that chance for me. I didn’t really have a person to talk to about my struggles.”

In recent years, The Salt Lake Tribune has examined Ute students and their struggles. The Utes are integral to the identity of the state; Utah takes its name from the tribe, as does the mascot of the state’s flagship university.

And at nearly every level of education, Ute students are left behind.

Ute students in the Uinta Basin are the students most likely to drop out of high school. Their test scores rank the lowest among any racial or ethnic group in the state.

Last year, The Tribune examined the relationship between the Ute Indian Tribe and the University of Utah with the help of the Pulitzer Center’s StoryReach Fellowship.

In 1951, 11 Ute students arrived at the Salt Lake City campus. Nearly 75 years later, that number was even lower this academic year: Three students received the scholarship for enrolled members of the Ute Tribe and four other students of Ute descent received third-party scholarships. In all, six Ute students have graduated with the Ute Tribe scholarship since it was started in 2014, the university says.

It will take a concerted effort from a variety of stakeholders to improve things, those involved say.

Part of that effort will be defined by the next Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Ute Tribe and the University of Utah. The latest version of the agreement, which gives the university permission to respectfully use the tribe’s name in athletics, expires in 2026. The U. has said it has proposed the idea of expanding the scholarship program to include students who identify as Ute but do not meet the tribe’s blood quantum requirements.

Kidd is one proponent of that expansion. She grew up on the reservation but does not meet the lineage requirements for the scholarship.

But nothing will stop her from trying to make a change in the meantime.

“We just try to make it easier,” Kidd said of her role in this new mentorship program.

Sometimes that’s as simple as bringing a freshman to their first football game at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Other times, it’s helping them navigate school work and financial aid.

“If you would have asked me as a freshman, I would’ve had no clue,” Kidd said. “Now I know a lot. I’ll most likely have an answer.”

There have been mixed results. One student has already dropped out, Kidd said. But another has thrived. “Now she’s doing great on her own,” she said.

It will take a lot more people like Kidd, who want to work to foster change. She’s already looking forward to advising a larger group of Ute students next fall with whatever they need — whether that’s signing up for classes or taking a homesick student to the reservation for the weekend.

“It’s no problem,” Kidd said, “because I’m going to the same place.”

There is a growing sentiment that the Utah Jazz will be one of the more important teams in the NBA this summer.

It’s to the point that the team has come up in conversations among league insiders throughout the NBA Finals.

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Yes, you read that right. While the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers play for the title, the Jazz — who finished the 2025 season with the worst record in the NBA — have been a regular topic of discussion.

(To be fair, so has a potential Kevin Durant trade from Phoenix. And after the Desmond Bane trade, the trajectories of the Orlando Magic and Memphis Grizzlies have been widely discussed, too).

Zach Lowe, Bill Simmons, Brian Windhorst — go down the list of prominent national pundits, and almost all of them have talked about the Jazz in the last couple of weeks, specifically how Utah is a team to watch this offseason. Maybe even the team to watch.

Why, exactly, is a matter of debate.

Will the Utah Jazz be buyers?

At his introductory press conference, Austin Ainge — Utah’s new president of basketball operations — didn’t mince words about the strategy of the team going forward.

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When asked about tanking, a team-building approach that for the Jazz meant the manipulation of minutes and/or holding out the team’s best players throughout much of the 2025 season, Ainge said, “You won’t see that this year.”

Some have taken Ainge at his word.

In a recent appearance on “SportsCenter,” during which Windhorst was analyzing the trade that sent Bane from Memphis to Orlando, Windhorst said that the Jazz should no longer be considered a rebuilding team. Instead, Utah has intentions on genuinely competing in the Western Conference, despite three straight years of steady decline.

“There’s not anybody in the Western Conference who is really rebuilding right now,” Windhorst said. “Everyone’s kind of got the gas put down. Including the Jazz. The Jazz are intending to try to turn it up.”

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If the Jazz were to try to improve rapidly, the team has the assets to pull it off.

Utah has nine first-round picks through 2031, and that doesn’t include pick swaps where the Jazz can get the more favorable of two picks. Nor does it include the Jazz’s 2026 first-round pick, which is projected to be in the top eight (if it falls lower than that, it conveys to Oklahoma City).

Orlando sent four first-round picks to Memphis (plus a pick swap) to land Bane (plus rotation players for salary-matching purposes). The Jazz have the ammunition — pick-wise — to land a pair of players the quality of Bane or better, in theory.

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Utah also has multiple notable expiring contracts it can use in a talent acquisition deal, namely those of John Collins, Jordan Clarkson and Collin Sexton.

And then there are the numerous young prospects the team has, multiple of whom could be enticing to a team trading an established pro.

All of which is to say, the Jazz have the assets to do what Windhorst suggests. And quickly, too.

Will the Utah Jazz be sellers?

There is a completely different train of thought about why the Jazz will be one of the more notable franchises in the NBA this offseason, however.

As in, polar opposite.

CBS Sports’ Sam Quinn laid it out on Monday. Namely, that the Jazz have solid players that contending teams could want (he singled out Sexton), have enough cap space to facilitate deals and the team doesn’t have to “tank” if it trades away most of its solid players. The team can just be bad and develop talent without any real tanking shenanigans. (A byproduct would be that Utah would still have a shot at a top pick in 2026 and avoid giving that selection to OKC.)

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“The younger Ainge himself said that the Jazz would not tank next season, but to be fair, in the Western Conference, they really won’t need to in order to get a high draft pick. If they just bring back last year’s team and play everyone the appropriate amount of minutes, they are going to miss the playoffs comfortably,” Quinn writes.

“That is almost certainly still the goal, whether Ainge will admit it or not. This team isn’t close enough to trade their way into the playoffs, much less genuine contention. If anything, the question here is whether they’ll make any further rebuilding trades, not whether they’ll function as surprise buyers.”

Quinn goes even further beyond the normal names that have been speculated for years as being movable by Utah.

He questions whether it is worth it to extend Walker Kessler, arguing that the Jazz are so far away from being a legitimate contender that they should still be squarely in asset-acquisition mode.

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“Walker Kessler is now extension-eligible,” Quinn writes. “Does it make sense for a team with no young players trending toward stardom to pay significant money for a rim-protector that offers little offensively? That’s a worthwhile question.

“Here’s a bigger one: What is Lauri Markkanen’s trade value now that he’s signed a max contract? The Jazz were demanding in last year’s negotiations. They almost always are when it comes to trading veterans. But at his current price and given the down year he just had, his market is going to be smaller. Two or three first-round picks? Sure, though the matching salary attached probably wouldn’t be great. Four or five? No way, not with a $46 million cap number.

“You’ll hear about the usual suspects. It wouldn’t be an offseason without John Collins rumors. Collin Sexton is ready to help a winner. One of these days someone is finally going to pry Jordan Clarkson loose. But the upheaval at the top of this organization suggests some measure of frustration. It’s not clear what exactly the Jazz are going to do, but they don’t seem like a team eager to stand still.”

What will the Utah Jazz do?

Abrupt turn to contention or a deeper descent into a rebuild — either option is possible for Utah this summer.

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Exactly what the Jazz will end up doing remains a question for now, but one thing is certain: The Jazz aren’t going to stand pat.

Since Danny Ainge came on board in December 2021, Utah has been involved in 16 trades, most of which included multiple players leaving and/or coming to Utah. The Jazz have not been shy about getting involved in the trade market, either as one of the primary teams involved (think the trades of Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell) or as a facilitator (think the Luka Doncic and Jimmy Butler trades).

That track record, coupled with a tight free agent market — the Brooklyn Nets are the only team in the NBA that has the ability, right now, to offer a contract to a free agent this summer for more than $30 million a year — means it is more a matter of when, not if, the Jazz start making waves this offseason.

Only one thing seems really certain about Utah this summer: Moves are going to be made.

The NBA Draft is 8 days away, and the Utah Jazz are hoping to make their selection with the 5th pick in the draft. However, there seems to be a bump in the road. Rutgers’ star, Ace Bailey, isn’t very interested in Utah:

Bailey, who continues sliding down the board in this scenario, doesn’t appear to have much interest in Utah and is viewed by most teams as a riskier bet. — Jeremy Woo of Draft Express

Ace Bailey has always seen himself as “THE guy” and wants to be that for an NBA team. He wants enough runway to be able to take as many shots as he can and play as many minutes as he can. So, why not Utah, Ace? I honestly couldn’t answer that. Utah gets a bad rap, the fans, the city, the people, and I just don’t get it.

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One of the reasons I don’t get it is that Ace Bailey is not good enough to be that guy for a team, and he probably never will be, given his playing style. He is a shot chucker, a ball stopper, and has very bad passing chops. He takes terrible shots largely due to the fact that he can’t get to the rim. He has the 2nd or 3rd worst rim frequency out of all draft-eligible freshmen in the entire draft, because he has an underdeveloped handle, which leads to the worst shot you can take in the game of basketball — the long 2.

I already talked about his bad feel of the game — a disappointing 0.6 assist-to-turnover ratio. If you look at all of the best players in the league, they get efficient looks at the basket because they make their teammates more of a threat. If you get your team involved, that is going to open up the court for yourself; Ace Bailey does not play that way. Before you say he had a terrible team (which is true), Collin Murray-Boyles, a projected first-round pick, was on one of the worst basketball teams in high-major basketball and still ended up with a net neutral assist-to-turnover ratio with a higher assist percentage — not to mention the usage difference was less than 1% and CMB was in a tougher conference.

If you combine Ace’s subpar collegiate shot diet, his poor feel of the game, and age, there are only 2 players since 2008 that have had good careers: Tobias Harris and Harrison Barnes. Why did they succeed? Because they scaled down and accepted a role that was less than trying to be “the guy”. Ace Bailey will have to do that if he wants to find success in the league. He can also find success by harnessing his defensive potential, which is a legitimate skill set he has.

Ace Bailey and his agency are trying to force themselves into a place where he is the focal point of the team (Givony & Woo). That doesn’t scream “team player” to me; that screams entitlement and an unwillingness to do what it takes to win. Will Hardy and the Jazz have lived by “minutes aren’t given, they’re earned” for the past 2 seasons, and it is likely that will not change. If Ace Bailey doesn’t want to earn his minutes, then he can go get run in Philly, New Orleans, or whatever organization he wants. The Utah Jazz want to build a team with players who want to win.

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Does this mean that the Utah Jazz won’t take Ace? I am not sure. Would I take Ace Bailey? Probably not. If I am the Utah Jazz, my eyes turn to Kon Knueppel, VJ Edgecombe, Noa Essengue, Derik Queen, and for most of you out there, Tre Johnson. Out of those listed players, I would imagine that the Utah Jazz would select Tre Johnson.

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MIDVALE — Joseph and Jan Carbone sacrificed everything 25 years ago to provide eye care for kids in need. As a longtime optician, Joseph Carbone decided to close his for-profit practice and devote all of his time and energy to his nonprofit, EyeCare4Kids.

Throughout his 50 years of experience, he has had many memorable experiences. Carbone said it was his work in private practice that led him to establish a nonprofit providing free and low-cost eye care for children and families in need.

“I did 25 years of for-profit work and did quite well,” he explained. “Now, I have 25 years of nonprofit (work). I have a core belief that everybody should take what they learned from life … and bless the life of somebody else.”

On Monday, EyeCare4Kids held an open house to celebrate leadership transitions and reintroduce the community to the organization, which has been helping children in Utah see better since 2001.

During his 25 years of running a clinic, Joseph Carbone said he repeatedly saw how many children and families could not afford the necessary eye care for reading, learning or interacting with the world around them. He realized he wanted to do more to help them and, with his wife’s help, started the nonprofit.

“When (Joseph) came home and said he wanted to start a nonprofit, I almost laughed at him,” said Jan Carbone. “I knew nothing about being involved in a nonprofit. … We made every mistake.”

On the day of their grand opening, the Carbones and another couple of friends showed up to staff the clinic. Over 100 people came to the grand opening seeking eye care. In that moment, they knew they had something special and would need a lot more help.

For a time, the Carbones attempted to run both the clinic and the nonprofit simultaneously. The time and manpower needed to run both became too much to handle. So, the couple decided that they would have to close one of their clinics. They took a leap of faith and closed the one making money, took a second mortgage on their home and fully invested in EyeCare4Kids.

Today, the nonprofit operates 10 clinics in the United States and six in Africa, with numerous mobile clinics also traveling to other areas. Over 400,000 children have been served through the organization.

“Children don’t know what they don’t know,” Jan Carbone shared. “They don’t know that other people see something different than them. It is so rewarding to put glasses on these little kids and have them realize that there is a world out there that they have never seen.”

As part of their 50th anniversary, the Carbones will move their focus to the EyeCare4Kids’ African clinics.

“Joseph is the kind of person that you love being around because his passion and his vision are infectious,” said EyeCare4Kids treasurer Alan Hague.

Maggie Cline, former executive director at the nonprofit, will now take the helm. Her efforts have helped open new clinics across the nation and increase patient engagement.

The mission of EyeCare4Kids resonates with Cline, who was raised by a single mother.

“We did not have a lot of things. I love this so much because I get to help the people who are living the way I used to live. It’s very personal,” she said. “I know what it is like to not have basic needs (met). … It speaks to the cycle of poverty. If you are not able to learn, you will be stuck. This helps people with vision, which is everything.”

EyeCare4Kids offers the best equipment available at its clinics across the globe, often exceeding what is offered at a typical eye clinic.

“Even if a child doesn’t have $200 for an eye exam or $400 for glasses, they get the same service, exam and glasses,” Joseph Carbone said. “They deserve everything.”

He said 90% of all donations to the nonprofit go directly to children and families. The team strives to keep the focus on the children and allow the administration to take a backseat. Children are identified through school referrals, community events and recommendations. Lions Club International, the world’s largest service club organization, also works closely with the organization to aid its cause.

Throughout the years of service, Joseph Carbone’s outstanding moments include “watching the little miracles.” He believes that it is his mission to help children and families get professional eye care, regardless of their financial situation. With a large selection of glasses, the team believes that each child should feel comfortable and confident in their eyewear.

“I feel I am the one who has been changed the most in 25 years,” he said. “The biggest lesson I’ve learned is the goodness of people. The overwhelming majority of people are good. … The people we work with and help are sincerely and genuinely grateful for what we do for them.”

Looking toward the future, the team of “dreamers” hopes to continue making eye care accessible and affordable for low-income families.

“The sky is the limit and nothing is impossible. If we believe in doing something and want it to happen, we figure out a way,” Cline said. “We need to help each other because that is what life is about.”

For more information or to volunteer, visit the EyeCare4Kids website.

By SAFIYAH RIDDLE and HANNAH SCHOENBAUM, Associated Press

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The man shot and killed while participating in the “No Kings” protest in Salt Lake City was a successful fashion designer and former “Project Runway” contestant who devoted his life to celebrating artists from the Pacific Islands.

Arthur Folasa Ah Loo, 39, was killed Saturday night when two men shot at a person brandishing a rifle at demonstrators, and one accidentally struck Ah Loo in the stomach, authorities said. Ah Loo later died at the hospital.

Salt Lake City police said it remained unclear Monday whether the individuals, one of whom identified himself as part of a “peacekeeping” team for the protest, were brought in by the event organizers or acted on their own initiative.

Arturo Gamboa, 24, never shot his rifle, but police arrested him on murder charges and said he created the dangerous situation that led to Ah Loo’s death. Police said Monday they were investigating whether the man who shot at Gamboa — and fatally hit Ah Loo — was justified in firing his gun. He has not been identified publicly.

Victim was a self-taught designer

Ah Loo leaves behind a wife and two young children, according to a GoFundMe page for his family that raised over $100,000 in 48 hours.

The self-taught fashion designer known to many as Afa devoted his life to doing “good things for his neighbors and community,” state Rep. Verona Mauga, a close friend, told The Associated Press. Their families were from the small village of Lotopa in Samoa, she said.

Ah Loo was born in Samoa and has lived in Utah for about a decade, his friend Benjamin Powell said.

Mauga, who was born in Hawaii, was at the “No Kings” protest a few blocks from where Ah Loo was shot. The Democratic lawmaker said she only realized something was wrong when she saw the crowd scattering.

Peaceful protest turns deadly

The protest Saturday was one of hundreds in cities nationwide to counter President Donald Trump’s military parade in Washington, which marked the Army’s 250th anniversary and coincided with Trump’s birthday.

As gunshots rang out through the Utah

There is no record in the Salt Lake City event permit indicating that armed security would be present, police said.

Carl Moore, a 49-year-old indigenous advocate, was filming the protest when three gunshots rang out through the crowd estimated at 10,000 people. Moore said he observed confusion among police as protesters hid behind barriers and took shelter inside parking garages and nearby businesses.

“They don’t know what they’re looking for. They’re just yelling like, ‘What does he look like?’” Moore recalled.

Weaving culture and community through fashion

Mauga said Ah Loo would have been proud that his last moments were spent advocating for what he believed in.

“If Afa was going to go out any other way than natural causes, it would be standing up for marginalized and vulnerable communities and making sure that people had a voice,” she said.

Powell, a hair salon innovator from Fiji, co-founded Create Pacific with Ah Loo shortly after they met four years ago. The organization uplifts artists from the Pacific Islands, allowing a new generation to connect with their heritage.

Every offseason, ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg creates a future power rankings for college football that attempts to forecast the health of programs around the country for the next few years.

He’s changed the formula up a bit this year in the college football future power rankings through 2026 that were released last week, thanks to the changing landscape of the sport that is ever-increasingly impacted by the transfer portal and Name, Image and Likeness, among other factors.

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In previous years, Rittenberg had based these future rankings on a three-year window — now he’s changed that to looking ahead at the next two seasons.

He also changed the overall delivery of the rankings.

Instead of breaking them out into a look at the quarterback position, as well as individual offensive and defensive rankings, as he’s done in the past in addition to team rankings, this year Rittenberg has released the team rankings only for the Power Four conferences and Notre Dame.

“The reason: The spring portal changes things, and QB rooms or individual units can look moderately or significantly different by late May or early June,” Rittenberg explained. “For example, think about where Tennessee would have been on the quarterback list in February and how the outlook is now.”

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There are six criteria Rittenberg is basing these rankings on. They include returning quarterback, likelihood of a multiyear QB on roster, offensive line/defensive line outlook, roster management, star power and coaching staff.

What do these latest rankings project for BYU, Utah and the rest of the Big 12?

And how does that compare to other power conferences, particularly the ACC, seen as its chief rival below the game’s two dominant leagues, the SEC and the Big Ten?

Where Big 12 football teams land in ESPN’s 2025 future power rankings

• 66. West Virginia

• 64. Arizona

• 62. Oklahoma State

• 61. Houston

• 57. Cincinnati

• 50. Kansas

• 35. Colorado

• 32. Baylor

• 29. Texas Tech

• 21. Kansas State

• 19. Iowa State

• 12. Arizona State

What stood out: First, the discouraging news for the conference — five of the bottom eight teams in the future power rankings are from the Big 12.

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West Virginia and UCF, the two lowest rated league schools in the rankings, both have new head coaches this year in Rich Rodriguez and Scott Frost, respectively.

There’s another group of five Big 12 programs bunched together from No. 29 to No. 38 as well, teams that could elevate themselves into top 25 territory.

Then there are four Big 12 teams in the top 25, including the league’s top-ranked team, Arizona State, at No. 12, followed by Iowa State (19), Kansas State (21) and BYU (25).

How the Big 12 compares to other power conferences: The Big 12 has the fewest teams in the top 50 of ESPN’s future power rankings, as the league has six schools — or 37.5% of the league — outside of the top 50, followed by the Big Ten with five (27.7%), the ACC with four (23.5%) and the SEC with three (18.7%).

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The SEC, meanwhile, has more than half of its 16 teams in the top 25, with nine (or 56.2%). That is followed by the Big Ten with seven (or 38.8% of its 18 teams), followed by the Big 12 and ACC with four each (25% of the Big 12’s 16 teams, 23.5% of the ACC’s 17 football-member schools).

The Big 12 is the only power conference without a team in the top 10.

The ACC has one in Clemson at No. 7, while the SEC has five (Texas at No. 1, Georgia at No. 3, LSU at No. 8, Tennessee at No. 9 and Alabama at No. 10), the Big Ten has three (Ohio State at No. 2, Oregon at No. 4 and Penn State at No. 6) and independent Notre Dame is No. 5.

What ESPN’s future power rankings say about BYU

The Cougars weren’t ranked in Rittenberg’s top 25 last year, but now come in at No. 25 following an 11-2 season where BYU went 7-2 in Big 12 play and won the Alamo Bowl.

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There are question marks surrounding the future of BYU’s quarterback position right now, with the civil lawsuit filed against last year’s starter, Jake Retzlaff, alleging that he sexual assaulted a Salt Lake County woman in November 2023.

Coming out of spring camp, McCae Hillstead and Treyson Bourget were in competition to be QB2 and could take over the offense. So, too, could incoming freshman transfer Bear Bachmeier, though likely further down the road.

Beyond those questions, Rittenberg pointed to several other things in the Cougars’ favor over the next couple of seasons.

One of those is coaching stability.

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“Kalani Sitake has good stability on the staff as he enters his 10th season overseeing the team at his alma mater. Primary coordinators Jay Hill (defense) and Aaron Roderick (offense) are both back, and the staff had minimal changes coming off of an 11-2 season,” Rittenberg wrote.

He also outlined the Cougars’ star power back in 2025 — BYU returns linebacker Jack Kelly on defense, while bringing back wide receiver Chase Roberts, running back LJ Martin and offensive guard Weylin Lapuaho on offense, along with all-Big 12 first-team kicker Will Ferrin.

As for roster management, Rittenberg wrote, “High school recruiting has fluctuated a bit, but BYU still does well in its state and in Texas, and the 2026 class currently ranks No. 20.”

What ESPN’s future power rankings say about Utah

Following a forgettable 5-7 season where injuries again impacted the Utes, particularly on offense, Utah fell from No. 14 in Rittenberg’s future power rankings last year to No. 30 ahead of the 2025 season.

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There’s uncertainty interspersed with optimism for Utah in several areas, from coaching stability — with Kyle Whittingham’s future a popular topic in recent years — to the quarterback position.

The Utes brought in New Mexico transfer Devon Dampier to take over as the Utes’ dual-threat starting QB, and he will be a junior in 2025. That likely gives the program a multiyear starter under first-year offensive coordinator Jason Beck, who also came to Salt Lake City from Albuquerque.

While there’s been plenty of roster turnover for the Utes, Dampier is one of the storylines to follow in terms of star power, along with guys like offensive tackles Spencer Fano and Caleb Lomu, as well as defenders Logan Fano, Lander Barton and Smith Snowden, per Rittenberg.

“Dampier led the Mountain West in yards per carry last fall (7.52), in addition to finishing second in passing. He’s a potential plug-and-play superstar,” Rittenberg wrote, while adding Utah’s additions at running back — including Wayshawn Parker — and wide receiver are worth monitoring.

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What could end up being a major positive for Utah this year is the trenches, especially on the offensive side.

“Utah’s offensive line returns all five starters and could be among the nation’s best. The team retained tackles Spencer Fano and Caleb Lomu, and has a veteran interior group,” Rittenberg wrote.

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — A $57 million paycheck will be coming to Utah after the Beehive State and 54 other jurisdictions agreed to a settlement agreement with the Sackler family and Purdue Pharma over their role in the opioid epidemic.

The Utah Division of Consumer Protection revived the 2019 lawsuit in September 2024, accusing Richard Sackler, the owner of pharmaceutical company Purdue Pharma, of lying to Utahns about the opioid OxyContin.

The lawsuit claimed Purdue Pharma “aggressively marketed” opioids such as OxyContin as safe, despite being aware of their highly addictive nature. The Utah Division of Consumer Protection said the campaign led to a deadly surge in opioid prescriptions nationwide, including Utah.

Between 2002 and 2015, opioid prescriptions surged by over one million, according to the Utah Office of the Attorney General. Between 2013 and 2015, Utah ranked seventh in the nation in prescription drug poisoning deaths. The Utah Office of the Medical Examiner said prescription opioids were responsible for the deaths of over 1,600 people in the state between 2014 and 2019.

Eight month old among three people killed in WestFest shooting

“Utah families deserve this resolution after Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family recklessly harmed our communities and contributed to the opioid epidemic,” said Utah Attorney General Derek Brown. “I will continue to use all the tools I have available, including litigation and prosecution, to protect Utahns in the future from these deadly drugs.”

Under the terms of the settlement, the Sackler family will pay $6.5 billion over the next 15 years. Approximately $900 million will come from Purdue Pharma. The agreement also ends the Sacklers’ control over Purdue Pharma and restricts the sale of opioids in the United States. Any lobbying or marketing efforts by Purdue Pharma will be limited and monitored.

The Utah Office of the Attorney General said the $57 million it will receive from the settlement will be used to help mitigate the ongoing impact of opioids in the state. This is in addition to the $540 million the state will receive from previously agreed-upon settlements, with $275 million designated for the state and $265 million to be dispersed among the counties, according to the AG’s Office.

“Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family caused immense harm and innumerable lives lost through their deceptive marketing and greed,” said Margaret Woolley Busse, Executive Director of the Utah Department of Commerce. “Utah never stopped its work to hold Purdue and the Sacklers accountable for what they have done and the devastation they have caused.”

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Right now, there are 83 players with Utah ties on active NFL rosters with NFL mandatory minicamps nearly wrapped up league-wide — there are five more taking place during the upcoming week, before all 32 teams won’t gather again in an official capacity until training camp

Of those 83, around 30 or more will be cut before the regular season begins.

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Over the past five years, there have been an average of 51.2 players with Utah ties who make an initial 53-man active NFL roster ahead of the regular season.

Last year, that included 54 players who played at a Utah school at some point during their career who made an initial active roster.

Of those, how many could be in line to make a major impact for their team?

Earlier this month, Pro Football Focus gave at least one baseline to an answer for that question, as the news outlet made predictions on the starting lineup for all 32 NFL teams for the 2025 season.

There were 24 players with Utah ties that showed up on the list, and that didn’t account for special teams. Matt Gay, an Orem native who kicked for the University of Utah, is the only kicker on the Washington Commanders roster.

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Count Gay as a starter, and that would be a projected 25 starters with Utah ties this season — or nearly half of the 51.2 average number of players with Utah ties who’ve made an initial regular-season roster in the past five years.

That list of projected starters from PFF includes seven who played at the University of Utah (eight if you count Gay), followed by BYU with six.

There’s also three who played at Utah State, two who played at Weber State, one at Southern Utah and 12 others who also played at Utah high schools.

There were five linebackers with Utah ties who made PFF’s projected starters list, while four wide receivers played at Utah schools.

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Which Utah ties is PFF projecting will start for their respective teams this season?

Utah ties on Pro Football Focus’ projections of NFL starters for all 32 teams in 2025

NFL teams listed in alphabetical order

Atlanta Falcons

• Tyler Allgeier, RB, BYU

• Kaden Elliss, LB, Judge Memorial High

Baltimore Ravens

• Kyle Van Noy, Edge, BYU

Buffalo Bills

• Taron Johnson, CB, Weber State

Chicago Bears

• Braxton Jones, LT, Southern Utah and Murray High

• Jaylon Johnson, CB, Utah

Cincinnati Bengals

• Zack Moss, RB, Utah

Denver Broncos

• Garett Bolles, LT, Utah, Snow College and Westlake High

• Devaughn Vele, WR, Utah

Detroit Lions

• Tim Patrick, WR, Utah

• Penei Sewell, RT, Desert Hills High

Green Bay Packers

• Jordan Love, QB, Utah State

Houston Texans

• Dalton Schultz, TE, Bingham High

Jacksonville Jaguars

• Devin Lloyd, LB, Utah

Kansas City Chiefs

• Kingsley Suamataia, LG, BYU and Orem High

Las Vegas Raiders

• Jackson Powers-Johnson, C, Corner Canyon High

Los Angeles Chargers

• Alohi Gilman, S, Orem High

Los Angeles Rams

• Puka Nacua, WR, BYU and Orem High

New England Patriots

• Khyiris Tonga, DT, BYU and Granger High

New Orleans Saints

• Rashid Shaheed, WR, Weber State

Pittsburgh Steelers

• Jaylen Warren, RB, Utah State, Snow College and East High

San Francisco 49ers

• Fred Warner, LB, BYU

Tennessee Titans

• Cody Barton, LB, Utah and Brighton High

Washington Commanders

• Bobby Wagner, LB, Utah State