Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award

The Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award is presented annually by the National Football League (NFL) honoring a player's commitment to philanthropy and community impact, as well as his excellence on the field. Prior to 1999, it was called simply the NFL Man of the Year Award. Shortly after Chicago Bears running back Walter Payton died (having been the 1977 recipient himself), the award was renamed to honor his legacy as a humanitarian.^[1]

Walter Payton Man of the Year

Logo of the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award
Awarded for	Excellence off the field regarding an NFL player's charity work
Presented by	National Football League
History
First award	Johnny Unitas QB, 1970
Most recent	Cameron Heyward DT, 2023
Website	www.nfl.com/manoftheyear/

Walter Payton rushing the ball against the New Orleans Saints on October 7, 1984, the day he broke Jim Brown's record for both 100-yard games and overall rushing yardage

The NFL Man of the Year trophy was created in 1969 by artist Daniel Bennett Schwartz, depicting a nondescript caped lineman standing alone on the sidelines, outside of game action. The trophy has never been intended to specifically resemble anybody, symbolizing that the award is intended to recognize any player, including one who may perform in a lower-profile playing position outside of the spotlight, whose humanitarian contributions and efforts are worthy.^[1]

Each year, a winner is selected from 32 nominees from the 32 different teams. A panel of judges, which includes the Commissioner of the NFL, the previous year's winner, and a number of former players select the winner of the award. The Man of the Year winner receives a $250,000 donation in his name to a charity of his choice. The other 31 finalists also receive donations in their name of $50,000 each to charities of their choice. The Kansas City Chiefs, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Chicago Bears have had more winners of the award than any other teams, with five winners each.^[2][3]

Since 2017, previous winners who are currently active in the league wear a patch depicting the trophy on their uniforms for the rest of their NFL careers. The current active winners (in chronological order) are Calais Campbell, Russell Wilson, Dak Prescott, and Cameron Heyward. Once the 32 nominees are announced, each of them is given a small helmet decal depicting the trophy to wear for the remainder of that season.^[4] Recent^[when?] winners have also been acknowledged during the Super Bowl pre-game ceremony before "America the Beautiful" and "The Star-Spangled Banner".^{[citation needed]}

The NFL describes the award as its "most prestigious accolade" and recipients of the award sometimes place it among their most cherished.^[5][6]

Winners

J. J. Watt, the 2017 Walter Payton Man of the Year award recipient. The special uniform patch is visible.

Larry Fitzgerald, 2016 co-recipient, with team captain uniform patch (player's right), and Man of the Year patch (player's left).

† Player is still active in the NFL

Year	Player [7][8]	Position[7]	Team[7][8]	Ref
1970	Johnny Unitas	Quarterback	Baltimore Colts	[9]
1971	John Hadl	Quarterback	San Diego Chargers	[10]
1972	Willie Lanier	Linebacker	Kansas City Chiefs	[11]
1973	Len Dawson	Quarterback	Kansas City Chiefs	[12]
1974	George Blanda	Quarterback	Oakland Raiders	[11]
1975	Ken Anderson	Quarterback	Cincinnati Bengals	[11]
1976	Franco Harris	Running back	Pittsburgh Steelers	[13]
1977	Walter Payton	Running back	Chicago Bears	[11]
1978	Roger Staubach	Quarterback	Dallas Cowboys	[11]
1979	Joe Greene	Defensive tackle	Pittsburgh Steelers	[11]
1980	Harold Carmichael	Wide receiver	Philadelphia Eagles	[11]
1981	Lynn Swann	Wide receiver	Pittsburgh Steelers	[11]
1982	Joe Theismann	Quarterback	Washington Redskins	[11]
1983	Rolf Benirschke	Kicker	San Diego Chargers	[11]
1984	Marty Lyons	Defensive tackle	New York Jets	[11]
1985	Dwight Stephenson	Center	Miami Dolphins	[11]
1986	Reggie Williams	Linebacker	Cincinnati Bengals	[11]
1987	Dave Duerson	Safety	Chicago Bears	[11]
1988	Steve Largent	Wide receiver	Seattle Seahawks	[11]
1989	Warren Moon	Quarterback	Houston Oilers	[11]
1990	Mike Singletary	Linebacker	Chicago Bears	[11]
1991	Anthony Muñoz	Offensive tackle	Cincinnati Bengals	[11]
1992	John Elway	Quarterback	Denver Broncos	[11]
1993	Derrick Thomas	Linebacker	Kansas City Chiefs	[11]
1994	Junior Seau	Linebacker	San Diego Chargers	[11]
1995	Boomer Esiason	Quarterback	New York Jets	[11]
1996	Darrell Green	Cornerback	Washington Redskins	[11]
1997	Troy Aikman	Quarterback	Dallas Cowboys	[11]
1998	Dan Marino	Quarterback	Miami Dolphins	[11]
1999	Cris Carter	Wide receiver	Minnesota Vikings	[11]
2000	Derrick Brooks	Linebacker	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	[11]
	Jim Flanigan	Defensive tackle	Chicago Bears	[11]
2001	Jerome Bettis	Running back	Pittsburgh Steelers	[11]
2002	Troy Vincent	Cornerback	Philadelphia Eagles	[11]
2003	Will Shields	Offensive guard	Kansas City Chiefs	[11]
2004	Warrick Dunn	Running back	Atlanta Falcons	[11]
2005	Peyton Manning	Quarterback	Indianapolis Colts	[11]
2006	Drew Brees	Quarterback	New Orleans Saints	[11]
	LaDainian Tomlinson	Running back	San Diego Chargers	[11]
2007	Jason Taylor	Defensive end	Miami Dolphins	[11]
2008	Kurt Warner	Quarterback	Arizona Cardinals	[14]
2009	Brian Waters	Offensive guard	Kansas City Chiefs	[15]
2010	Madieu Williams	Safety	Minnesota Vikings	[16]
2011	Matt Birk	Center	Baltimore Ravens	[11]
2012	Jason Witten	Tight end	Dallas Cowboys	[11]
2013	Charles Tillman	Cornerback	Chicago Bears	[11]
2014	Thomas Davis Sr.	Linebacker	Carolina Panthers	[11]
2015	Anquan Boldin	Wide receiver	San Francisco 49ers	[17]
2016	Larry Fitzgerald	Wide receiver	Arizona Cardinals	[18]
	Eli Manning	Quarterback	New York Giants	[18]
2017	J. J. Watt	Defensive end	Houston Texans	[19]
2018	Chris Long	Defensive end	Philadelphia Eagles	[20]
2019	Calais Campbell†	Defensive end	Jacksonville Jaguars	[21]
2020	Russell Wilson†	Quarterback	Pittsburgh Steelers	[22]
2021	Andrew Whitworth	Offensive tackle	Los Angeles Rams	[23]
2022	Dak Prescott†	Quarterback	Dallas Cowboys	[24]
2023	Cameron Heyward†	Defensive tackle	Pittsburgh Steelers	[25]

See also

• Walter Camp Man of the Year
• Walter Camp Distinguished American Award
• Walter Camp Alumni of the Year
• Amos Alonzo Stagg Award
• National Football Foundation Distinguished American Award
• National Football Foundation Gold Medal Winners
• Theodore Roosevelt Award
• NFLPA Alan Page Community Award
• Athletes in Action/Bart Starr Award
• Laureus Sport for Good Award
• List of National Football League awards

References

General

• "Previous Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year winners" (PDF). National Football League. Retrieved November 12, 2016.

Specific

1. Callahan, Sean (February 1, 2013). "The Model for a Tribute to Model Players". The New York Times. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
2. "NFL Man Of The Year". National Football League. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
3. Rubio, Fidel (February 13, 2023). "NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year Award: Full list of winners". Diario AS. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
4. "NFL reveals nominees for Walter Payton Man of the Year Award". NFL.com. December 7, 2017.
5. "Seahawks QB Russell Wilson named 2020 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year". NFL.com. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
6. Kendle, Jon (April 10, 2022). "NFL stars count Walter Payton Man of the Year award among game's biggest honors". Canton Repository. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
7. "Walter Payton Man of the Year Winners". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 27, 2024.
8. "Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award Winners". National Football League. Retrieved February 27, 2024.
9. "Johnny Unitas NFL & AFL Statistics". Pro Football Reference. Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved February 7, 2011.
10. "John Hadl NFL & AFL Statistics". Pro Football Reference. Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved February 7, 2011.
11. "NFL.com | Walter Payton Man of the Year - Past Winners". NFL.com. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
12. "Chiefs' 'Man Of The Moment' – Len Dawson: 1935-2022". Pro Football Hall of Fame. August 24, 2022. Retrieved February 27, 2024.
13. "Gold Jacket Spotlight: Franco Harris, 'Mr. Pittsburgh'". Pro Football Hall of Fame. Retrieved February 27, 2024.
14. "Warner named Payton award winner". United Press International. February 1, 2009. Retrieved February 7, 2011.
15. "Brian Waters named NFL Man of the Year". United Press International. February 7, 2010. Retrieved February 7, 2011.
16. Gardner, Tim (February 6, 2011). "Vikings' Madieu Williams named Walter Payton Man of the Year". USA Today. Retrieved February 7, 2011.
17. Hagemann, Andie (February 6, 2016). "Anquan Boldin named Walter Payton Man of the Year". NFL.com. Retrieved February 7, 2016.
18. "Fitzgerald, Eli both named Walter Payton Man of Year". NFL.com. February 4, 2017.
19. "J.J. Watt named 2017 Walter Payton Man of the Year | Moments That Make You Smile Champion". Houston Texans. February 9, 2021. Retrieved February 27, 2024.
20. Bergman, Jeremy (February 2, 2019). "Chris Long named Walter Payton Man of the Year". NFL.com. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
21. "Calais Campbell named 2019 Walter Payton NFL Man of Year". NFL.com. February 12, 2020. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
22. Gordon, Grant (February 6, 2021). "Seahawks QB Russell Wilson named 2020 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year". NFL.com. Retrieved February 6, 2021.
23. Gordon, Grant (February 10, 2022). "Rams OT Andrew Whitworth named 2021 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year". NFL.com. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
24. Gordon, Grant (February 9, 2023). "Cowboys QB Dak Prescott named 2022 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year". NFL.com. Retrieved February 9, 2023.
25. Strackbein, Noah (February 8, 2024). "Steelers' Cam Heyward Named 2023 Walter Payton Man of Year". Sports Illustrated Pittsburgh Steelers News, Analysis and More. Retrieved February 9, 2024.