To play in the National Football League, a young man has to be athletically talented at the highest of levels, and he also has to excel in mental and physical toughness in order to survive and thrive in the complex and brutal sport of professional football.
To be considered for the NFLs Walter Payton Man of the Year (WPMOY) Award, however, a young man must possess all of the above on-the-field magic plus a whole lot of off-the-field compassion, dedication to his community and a willingness to connect with, assist and inspire those who are less fortunate.
For almost half a century, the NFL has been awarding its WPMOY Award and in the beginning of February 2019, this seasons winner will be announced.
Weve gathered all of the information we could find about the WPMOY Award and answered as many frequently asked questions as we could.
So read on for the who, what, where, when and why of the 2018 WPMOY Award and discover the softer side of these gridiron beasts.
Its incredible to see how much overall good comes from the unselfish choices and tireless efforts made by these amazing young men.
The Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award recognizes NFL players for their excellence on and off the field.
Through their nomination process and the eventual award ceremony of this honor, the world sees examples of NFL players giving back to their community by connecting and inspiring those with special needs or chipping in and lending a hand to communities decimated by poverty or tragic weather conditions.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has said this about the 2018 award:
“The Man of the Year Award gives us the opportunity to acknowledge 32 exemplary players whose commitment to excellence extends on and off the field.
“This year’s nominees have used their platforms to transform communities across the country.
We are proud of their work and celebrate their dedication and impact through this award.”
The WPMOY award was originally known as the NFL Man of the Year Award and was established 48 years ago in 1970.
On November 1, 1999, one of the NFLs most skilled, compassionate and universally beloved players, Hall of Fame running back Walter Sweetness Payton, died from a rare liver disease at the age of 45.
That same year, the NFL under then commissioner Paul Tagliabue decided to rename the leagues Man of the Year award after Payton, a former recipient, in order to honor his legacy as a humanitarian.
From that point forward it was called the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award.
Each of the thirty-two NFL teams receives a single nomination.
Out of those thirty-two, the player who has had the most significant positive impact on his community that season and in general is chosen as the award winner.
The good deeds of all nominees, however, are celebrated throughout the process.
A panel of judges determines the WPMOY Award winner.
That panel is made up of the Commissioner of the NFL, currently Roger Goodell, Connie Payton, the widow of Walter Payton, the previous year’s winner and a number of former players.
First off, the winner receives a trophy thats based on a sculpture that the NFL commissioned from artist Daniel Bennett Schwartz when the award was originally created back in 1970.
The sculpture is titled The Gladiator and like the bronzed trophy modeled after it, features an old-school football player fully helmeted and uniformed with his chin up, wearing a thick sideline cape for warmth.
The winner also receives a great deal of money, but theres a slight catch.
A total of $500,000 will be donated to charity in the name of the 2018 winner.
Heres how it breaks down:
*Character Playbook is a digital character education program presented by the NFL and United Way designed to help middle school students in nearly 30 states learn how to cultivate and maintain healthy relationships.
Yes, thankfully theres something for everybody.
The other 31 nominees receive a $50,000 donation in their name to expand Character Playbook and up to $50,000 donated to their charity of choice.
All donations are courtesy of the NFL Foundation, Nationwide and United Way Worldwide.
Nationwide’s Chief Marketing Officer Terrance Williams has released this quote:
“Nationwide is honored to help highlight and support the incredible efforts of this year’s team nominees.
“We hope others are inspired by these 32 men to make positive differences — big and small — in their own communities.
Congratulations and thank you to each of the nominees for their leadership both on and off the field.”
The very first NFL Man of the Year was given back in 1970 to the quarterback of the Baltimore Colts, Johnny Unitas.
That year was said to be Unitas last great season when he completed 166-of-221 for 2,213 yards and 14 touchdowns and an appearance in Super Bowl V.
Known as The Golden Arm, his popularity was widespread, though his charitable side was kept private, but towards the end of his life he brought media attention to the many permanent physical disabilities suffered by professional football players like he and his peers who played the game without access to modern safety equipment.
At the end of the 2017 season, defensive end J.J. Watt of the Houston Texans was made the WPMOY.
Though Watt had an injury-shortened 2017 season, his tireless work helping the Houston community recover from the devastating effects of Hurricane Harvey in addition to all of the other volunteers it inspired brought him the WPMOY Award.
Though the award has been around for forty-eight years now, fifty-one players have won it in the past.
Which leads to the next question
Yes, its happened on three different occasions:
In Week 14 of the 2017 season, each winner who is currently active in the league started wearing a patch on their uniforms representing the award and continue to do so.
Also, the thirty-two nominees of each team are given a decal to wear on their helmet for the remainder of the season.
The current WPMOY Award winners who still actively play in the NFL are:
Yes, actually for the last three years, the presenting sponsor of the award, Nationwide, has done something called the Charity Challenge.
For the 2018 award, fans were encouraged to post #WPMOYChallenge and their favorite nominee’s last name on social media between December 6th and January 13th.
The nominee who receives the most hashtag mentions wins an additional $25,000 donation to his charity of choice from Nationwide, and the runner-up receives $10,000 and the third-place winner will receive $5,000.
This years Charity Challenge has concluded and the winner has already been decided
The winner will be revealed on January 20th during the AFC Championship game on CBS.
The 2018 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year will be announced during something theyre calling NFL Honors, a two-hour prime-time awards special that will air nationally on Feb. 2, the eve of Super Bowl LIII, on CBS.
For those hoping to line the red carpet to see a few of your football heroes, NFL Honors will be held at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, GA.
Something theyre doing new this year is highlighting all 32 team winners, the finalists recognized for their important work, during the weekend leading up to Super Bowl LIII.
Each of these men has his own personal take on charity, and its interesting to see the various creative ways theyve decided to use their fame and fortune to give back.
Clearly all of these nominees are award worthy, but only one will take the prize.
2018 NFL stats line: 122 combined tackles (5 for loss), 3.0 sacks, 6 QB hits, 4 passes defended and a forced fumble.
Charity name: the Safe Coverage Foundation
Charity goals: to help provide access and resources for students to achieve their dreams of a higher education by making tech equipment and access to college campus visits available.
2018 NFL stats line: 52 combined tackles (8 for loss), 6.0 sacks, 16 QB hits and 3 forced fumbles.
Charity name: Big Men Dont Bully
Charity goals: speaking to students on the importance of anti-bullying, participating in local campaigns as a spokesperson and taking part in league-wide character initiatives with Character Playbook.
2018 NFL stats line: 45 combined tackles, 2 interceptions, 11 passes defended and a QB hit.
Charity name: the Carr Cares Reading Buddy Foundation
Charity goals: the foundation provides mentoring services to struggling early grade school readers by pairing them with high school student mentors who then qualify for book scholarships.
2018 NFL stats line: 74 combined tackles (11 for loss), 6.5 sacks, 10 QB hits, 9 passes defended, 2 forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.
Various charity names: Organized: a youth football team meal program, cleat donations, a free STEM Lab and health screening event for Buffalo’s inner-city youth;
Supported: teammate Micah Hyde’s backpack giveaway event, the Play 60 Challenge, the Crucial Catch campaign and United Way Hometown Huddle; Ambassador: for the American Diabetes Association.
Charity goals: support young athletes (see above).
2018 NFL stats line: 22 combined tackles (6 for loss), 5.0 sacks, 11 QB hits, 6 passes defended, 2 forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.
Charity name (among others): Peppers partnered with the Foundation for the Carolinas and started the Julius Peppers Hurricane Florence relief fund.
Charity goals: to help hurricane ravaged areas of the Carolinas recover from Hurricane Florence.
2018 NFL stats line: 55 touches, 571 yards from scrimmage and 6 touchdowns.
Charity name: Bears Care and Becoming a Man.
Charity goals: BC: to raise funds for breast and ovarian cancer research;
BAM: helping young men focus on six core values including Integrity, Accountability, Self-Determination, Positive Anger Expression, Visionary Goal Setting and Respect for Women.
2018 NFL stats line: 47 combined tackles (8 for loss), 8.0 sacks, 21 QB hits, 8 passes defended and a fumble recovery.
Charity name: the anti-bullying literacy tour and Sunday Funday.
Charity goals: ABL – to encourage kids to choose kindness, not bullying; SF – a fun and educational back-to-school event.
2018 NFL stats line: 43 combined tackles (1 for loss), 2 interceptions, 5 passes defended and a fumble recovery.
Charity name: the Greater Cleveland Food Bank
Charity goals: to help raise food money donations to provide over a million meals for local individuals and families in need.
2018 NFL stats line: 356 completions for 3,885 yards and 22 touchdowns with 8 interceptions, 67.7 completion percentage.
Charity name: the Faith, Fight, Finish Foundation
Charity goals: focuses on fighting cancer and offering assistance to those facing life-challenging hardships, all in honor of his mom, Peggy.
2018 NFL stats line: 48 combined tackles (14 for loss), 14.5 sacks, 26 QB hits, an interception, four forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries.
Charity name: Vons Vision
Charity goals: to provide free eye screenings and eye exams valued at $254,149 – based on those testing results, more than $500,000 worth of frames and lenses have been donated at no cost to program participants.
2018 NFL stats line: 3,777 passing yards and 21 touchdowns with 11 interceptions, 66.1 completion percentage.
Charity name: Score 7 Charitable Foundation, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan
Charity goals: to support the area youth with initiatives that focus on leading an active and healthy lifestyle, as well as education on proper nutrition.
2018 NFL stats line: 55 combined tackles (8 for loss) 6.0 sacks, 9 QB hits, 3 passes defended, a forced fumble and two fumble recoveries.
Various Charity names: the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Green Bay, Make-A-Wish, the Salvation Army’s Big Kettle campaign, the Green Bay Packers Annual Tailgate Tour and the Packers GiveBack Celebrity Bowling event.
Charity goals: focus on those in need in the Green Bay area.
2018 NFL stats line: 39 combined tackles (5 for loss), 4.0 sacks, 14 QB hits and 2 forced fumbles.
Charity name: WithMerci
Charity goals: to focus on supporting families of children with disabilities and special needs. Indianapolis Colts defensive end Jabaal Sheard
2018 NFL stats line: 50 combined tackles (14 for loss), 5.5 sacks, 13 QB hits, 4 passes defended and a fumble recovery.
Charity name: the Jabaal Sheard Foundation
Charity goals: to provide at-risk youth with outreach programs that given them opportunities in the fields of educational advancement and healthy living.
2018 NFL stats line: 2,718 passing yards and 13 touchdowns with 11 interceptions, 60.3 completion percentage.
Charity name: the Blake Bortles Foundation
Charity goals: emphasizes giving back to first responders in his hometown and northeast Florida.
2018 NFL stats line: 45 punts for 2,021 yards, 44.9 yards per punt, longest of 67 yards.
Charity name: TeamSmile
Charity goals: providing underserved children with $3.5 million in complimentary dental and preventative care procedures.
2018 NFL stats line: 14 combined tackles (5 for loss), 1.5 sacks, 5 QB hits and 1 fumble recovery, all while playing in just six games.
Charity name (among others): Community S.T.E.P.S program with the Los Angeles American Heart Association
Charity goals: a hybrid social justice and physical activity campaign aimed at bringing law enforcement and the community together to create a safe space for dialogue and exercise.
2018 NFL stats line: 2x All-Pro, 4x Pro-Bowler
Charity name: the Big Whit 77 Foundation and Whit’s Warriors.
Charity goals: to impact the lives of youth and families in his home state of Louisiana.
2018 NFL stats line: 37 catches for 553 yards and 6 touchdowns.
Charity name: RISE (Ross Initiative in Sports for Equality)
Charity goals: to help promote ride-alongs and tailgates to unite different groups of people.
2018 NFL stats line: 64 receptions for 634 yards and 4 touchdowns.
Charity name: the End Zone at the University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital
Charity goals: a unique space to that provides opportunities for patients and families to take their minds off treatments, featuring an indoor basketball hoop, a lounge, a small kitchen, a digital sports simulator, a sensory walk/area for patients on the autism spectrum and video game consoles.
2018 NFL stats line: 82 combined tackles (1 for loss), an interception returned 84-yards for a touchdown, a forced fumble and two fumble recoveries.
Charity name: the “McCourty Twins Tackle Sickle Cell” campaign (with brother Jason)
Charity goals: to help raise money for those affected by sickle cell disease, an inherited disorder that causes a person’s red cells to change shape because of a chemical change in their hemoglobin.
2018 NFL stats line: 159 total touches for 815 yards from scrimmage and 7 touchdowns.
Charity name: The Mark Ingram Foundation and various community activities
Charity goals: to help underserved kids, particularly those with incarcerated parents, as well as making school literacy visits, hospital visits, character development visits, youth football camp visits, corporate partner events and other civic engagements.
2018 NFL stats line: 58 combined tackles (2 for loss), 1.0 sack, a QB hit, 2 interceptions, 6 passes defended and a forced fumble.
Charity name: Big Plays for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Miami
Charity goals: to help raise money for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Miami, who help the underserved youth of the community.
2018 NFL stats line: received a 72.7 overall grade by Pro Football Focus.
Charity name: the Barack Obama Male Leadership Academy
Charity goals: to provide programming for students, professional development for educators, funding for education field trips and college visits, and mentorship connections for students within a vast array of industries.
2018 NFL stats line: in just six games 105 touches for 460 yards from scrimmage and 3 touchdowns.
Charity name: the Fam1st Family Foundation
Charity goals: to embody the intrinsic family values of loyalty and leadership to impact the lives of Oakland’s disenfranchised youth.
2018 NFL stats line: 23 combined tackles (3 for loss), 6.5 sacks, 20 QB hits and 2 forced fumbles.
Charity name: the Chris Long Foundation
Charity goals: to engage and create programs focused around four main philanthropic causes: clean water, military appreciation, homelessness and youth.
2018 NFL stats line: 52 combined tackles (10 for loss), 8.0 sacks, 18 QB hits, 3 passes defended, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
Charity name: the Heyward House Foundation
Charity goals: to provide birthday parties for those served by KidsVoice, an agency that represents abused and neglected kids who are in foster or group homes.
2018 NFL stats line: 33-for-34 field goals made, longest a 53-yarder, 27/29 extra points made.
Charity name: the Goulden Touch Foundation
Charity goals: to better the community, focusing its giving efforts under four Goulden Rules: Education, Health & Wellness, Medical Research and Social Service.
2018 NFL stats line: in five games 23 combined tackles (2 for loss) and 3 passes defended.
Charity name: Kenya Outreach and Legion of Youth program.
Charity goals: KO – raising money for the construction of a fresh-water well for the primary school in Maasai Mara;
LoY – to empower youth in Washington by providing Seahawks tickets to community organizations that serve kids throughout the Northwest.
2018 NFL stats line: 28 combined tackles (6 for loss), 6.0 sacks, 21 QB hits and a pass defended.
Charity name: the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Social Justice Board
Charity goals: a player-led program that aims to create real change in the Tampa Bay community.
2018 NFL stats line: 62 combined tackles (11 for loss), 7.0 sacks, 11 QB hits, 2 forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.
Charity names: The Casey Fund (TCF) and Rally Foundation’s Rally
Charity goals: TCF – to address the needs of at-risk youth and the formerly incarcerated;
RFR a fundraiser for childhood cancer research.
2018 NFL stats line: 25 receptions for 367 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Charity name: the Vernon Davis Foundation for the Arts
Charity goals: to promote art education and art appreciation among youth from disadvantaged backgrounds.
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