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 volunteer and charity work, 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
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.
Given forExcellence off the field regarding an NFL player's charity work
Presented byNational Football League
History
First award1970 to Johnny Unitas
Most recentRussell Wilson
Websitewww.nfl.com/manoftheyear/

The Man of the Year trophy was created in 1969 by artist Daniel Bennett Schwartz, depicting a caped lineman modeled after offensive tackle Steve Wright, who had played for the Green Bay Packers during their Super Bowl I and Super Bowl II championships. Despite the award being renamed in 1999, the trophy has never been modified to depict Payton instead of Wright.[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 and Chicago Bears have had more winners of the award than any other teams, with 5 winners each. The Steelers and Chargers franchise are the next highest teams with 4 winners each.

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 Drew Brees, Jason Witten,[2] Thomas Davis, Larry Fitzgerald, J.J. Watt, Calais Campbell, and Russell Wilson. Once announced, the nominees of each team are given a helmet decal, also depicting the trophy, to wear for the remainder of the season.[3] The winner is also acknowleged during the Super Bowl pre-game ceremony before "America the Beautiful" and "The Star Spangled Banner".

The NFL describes the award as its "most prestigious accolade".[4]

Winners
Trophy on display at the Super Bowl Experience.
J. J. Watt, the 2017 Walter Payton Man of the Year award recipient. The special uniform patch is visible.
Larry Fitzgerald, 2016 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
YearPlayerPositionTeam Ref
1970Johnny UnitasQuarterbackBaltimore Colts[5]
1971John HadlQuarterbackSan Diego Chargers[6]
1972Willie LanierLinebackerKansas City Chiefs
1973Len DawsonQuarterbackKansas City Chiefs
1974George BlandaQuarterbackOakland Raiders
1975Ken AndersonQuarterbackCincinnati Bengals
1976Franco HarrisRunning backPittsburgh Steelers
1977Walter PaytonRunning backChicago Bears
1978Roger StaubachQuarterbackDallas Cowboys
1979Joe GreeneDefensive TacklePittsburgh Steelers
1980Harold CarmichaelWide receiverPhiladelphia Eagles
1981Lynn SwannWide receiverPittsburgh Steelers
1982Joe TheismannQuarterbackWashington Redskins
1983Rolf BenirschkePlacekickerSan Diego Chargers
1984Marty LyonsDefensive tackleNew York Jets
1985Dwight StephensonCenterMiami Dolphins
1986Reggie WilliamsLinebackerCincinnati Bengals
1987Dave DuersonSafetyChicago Bears
1988Steve LargentWide receiverSeattle Seahawks
1989Warren MoonQuarterbackHouston Oilers
1990Mike SingletaryLinebackerChicago Bears
1991Anthony MuñozOffensive tackleCincinnati Bengals
1992John ElwayQuarterbackDenver Broncos
1993Derrick ThomasLinebackerKansas City Chiefs
1994Junior SeauLinebackerSan Diego Chargers
1995Boomer EsiasonQuarterbackNew York Jets
1996Darrell GreenCornerbackWashington Redskins
1997Troy AikmanQuarterbackDallas Cowboys
1998Dan MarinoQuarterbackMiami Dolphins
1999Cris CarterWide receiverMinnesota Vikings
2000Derrick BrooksLinebackerTampa Bay Buccaneers
Jim FlaniganDefensive tackleChicago Bears
2001Jerome BettisRunning backPittsburgh Steelers
2002Troy VincentCornerbackPhiladelphia Eagles
2003Will ShieldsGuardKansas City Chiefs
2004Warrick DunnRunning backAtlanta Falcons
2005Peyton ManningQuarterbackIndianapolis Colts
2006Drew BreesQuarterbackNew Orleans Saints
LaDainian TomlinsonRunning backSan Diego Chargers
2007Jason TaylorDefensive endMiami Dolphins
2008Kurt WarnerQuarterbackArizona Cardinals[7]
2009Brian WatersGuardKansas City Chiefs[8]
2010Madieu WilliamsSafetyMinnesota Vikings[9]
2011Matt BirkCenterBaltimore Ravens
2012Jason WittenTight endDallas Cowboys
2013Charles TillmanCornerbackChicago Bears
2014Thomas Davis Sr.LinebackerCarolina Panthers
2015Anquan BoldinWide receiverSan Francisco 49ers[10]
2016Larry FitzgeraldWide receiverArizona Cardinals[11]
Eli ManningQuarterbackNew York Giants[11]
2017J. J. WattDefensive endHouston Texans
2018Chris LongDefensive endPhiladelphia Eagles[12]
2019Calais CampbellDefensive endJacksonville Jaguars[13]
2020Russell WilsonQuarterbackSeattle Seahawks[14]

See also

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. Witten initially retired in 2018, then ended his retirement in 2019.
  3. "NFL reveals nominees for Walter Payton Man of the Year Award". NFL.com. December 7, 2017.
  4. "Seahawks QB Russell Wilson named 2020 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year". NFL.com. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
  5. "Johnny Unitas NFL & AFL Statistics". Pro Football Reference. Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved February 7, 2011.
  6. "John Hadl NFL & AFL Statistics". Pro Football Reference. Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved February 7, 2011.
  7. "Warner named Payton award winner". United Press International. February 1, 2009. Retrieved February 7, 2011.
  8. "Brian Waters named NFL Man of the Year". United Press International. February 7, 2010. Retrieved February 7, 2011.
  9. Gardner, Tim (February 6, 2011). "Vikings' Madieu Williams named Walter Payton Man of the Year". USA Today. Retrieved February 7, 2011.
  10. Hagemann, Andie (February 6, 2016). "Anquan Boldin named Walter Payton Man of the Year". NFL.com. Retrieved February 7, 2016.
  11. "Fitzgerald, Eli both named Walter Payton Man of Year". NFL.com. February 4, 2017.
  12. Bergman, Jeremy (February 2, 2019). "Chris Long named Walter Payton Man of the Year". NFL.com. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
  13. "Calais Campbell named 2019 Walter Payton NFL Man of Year". NFL.com. February 12, 2020. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
  14. Gordon, Grant (February 6, 2021). "Seahawks QB Russell Wilson named 2020 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year". NFL.com. Retrieved February 6, 2021.
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