Football is officially back, and everyone is getting ready for an exciting — including the family pets. Whether it’s tossing a football toy with your dog at halftime or snuggling up on the couch to catch the game with your cat, our pets will always find a way to be involved. As the season kicks off, the stars of the league wanted to remind everyone that their pets are involved, too — and share an important message at the same time.

Best Friends Animal Society reached out to players across the NFL and asked them to pose with their pets who have all been adopted from shelters or rescues. Adopt-don’t-shop is an important message and a cause close to so many people’s hearts, including some of the nation’s biggest football stars.

“Having influential players from one of America’s favorite sports supporting adoption will hopefully inspire more people to get out and save pets’ lives,” Julie Castle, CEO of Best Friends Animal Society, said in a press release.

A whole bunch of players jumped at the opportunity to show off their adopted pals, including Baltimore Ravens’ Marlon Humphrey and Ronnie Stanley, Detroit Lions’ Alex Anzalone, Houston Texans’ Cameron Johnston, Kansas City Chiefs’ Derrick Nnadi, Las Vegas Raiders’ Maxx Crosby, Miami Dolphins’ Brandon Jones, Minnesota Vikings’ Harrison Phillips, New York Giants’ Collin Johnson and Darren Waller, Philadelphia Eagles’ Jake Elliott, Pittsburgh Steelers’ Isaiahh Loudermilk, Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Chris Godwin and free agent Logan Ryan.

“These inspiring players are showing us all how to be a true MVP this season — by giving a shelter pet an amazing home and a lifetime of love,” Best Friends Animal Society wrote on Instagram.

All of the pets featured in the photos seem to truly be living their best lives alongside their famous dads. Ronnie Stanley’s pitties, Rico And Lola, seemed pretty darn thrilled to be posing alongside their dad and got a little distracted giving kisses mid-photo shoot. Darren Waller’s cat, Spyro, on the other hand, seemed less than enthused.

Whether they enjoyed the photo shoot or not, though, it’s clear every single one of these pets’ lives was changed in the best way because they were adopted, and hopefully lots of other animals will find their forever homes this football season.