Two weeks ago at Dominick’s Steakhouse in Scottsdale, Larry Fitzgerald’s foundation held the 20th and final Fitz’s Supper Club, closing a fundraiser that had become part of the local philanthropic calendar. Fitzgerald said the night felt like the end of one chapter, but not the end of the work.

The event was the 14th Fitz’s Supper Club at Dominick’s, and it came after about 20 years of the foundation’s work. Fitzgerald said the effort had raised millions of dollars over the years, and that was why the evening carried more weight than a routine farewell. He said what the foundation had done was probably what he was most proud of, more than any yardage total from his 17 NFL seasons with the Arizona Cardinals.

That is the reason his name still draws attention now. Fitzgerald said he looked up after two decades and felt as if he had built real relationships in town, a reflection of how the community embraced his philanthropic work. He said he had been blessed with a lot and wanted to use that to enhance other people’s lives, adding that people would not remember his yards when he was gone. They would remember whether he made the world better and served others when they needed it.

Fitzgerald tied that outlook to the players he said inspired him, naming Alan Page, Anthony Munoz and Willie Lanier as men who used football for something larger than the game. He said he was in his early 40s and that he hoped to stand on their shoulders and pass that lesson to the next generation. For him, elevation was not about a trophy case. It was about what a player does with the platform after the applause fades.

There was still a clear note of transition in the room. Danielle Frost said the evening was a celebration of the people, partnerships and purpose that shaped the work, while also making clear that the final Fitz’s Supper Club did not mean the foundation was winding down. Jeff Mastro, who said he had worked with Fitzgerald for well over a decade, said the two had raised millions of dollars for causes that would keep having an impact in the community for many years.

Fitzgerald said he believes it is better to leave early than to stay too long, and said he would keep raising money and spend more time with the foundation. What replaces Fitz’s Supper Club has not been announced, but the message from Scottsdale was plain enough: the event is over, and the mission is not.