"A lot of support from my teammates, well, former teammates," Peppers said with a chuckle. "Everyone has been congratulating me on a great career and it feels good to be appreciated."

The community is certainly appreciative of Peppers for all the work he's done during and after his final NFL season.

Here's what he had to say about the three charitable organizations his gala supported:

"The Young Black Leadership Alliance – they give exposure to youth locally and around the world. I thought they were great when I went out and visited them. I fell in love with it."

"The Girl Talk Foundation is run by someone that I know from my first stint with the Panthers. They are empowering young girls to be strong women. It's great."

"The Center for Community Transitions – they offer stability and assistance to families dealing with someone who has been incarcerated. A lot of people deal with that at one point or another, and that hit home for me.