Walter Payton exemplified what it meant to be a human being.  On the football grid iron, he quickly made his mark as a running back for the Chicago Bears.  Off the field, he was a true humanitarian.

The NFL has created an award named after “Sweetness” – the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award – which goes to the player who shines both on and off the field through on field performance and his charitable and humanitarian endeavours off the field.

Each of the 32 NFL teams nominates one player with the winner being announced as a part of the NFL Honours during Super Bowl week.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell spoke on the award saying, “the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award celebrates Walter’s enduring legacy of excellence on the field and compassion off it.  This award is the league’s most prestigious honor, and we are proud to recognize these 32 outstanding men for the positive impact they make in their communities every day.”

The 2024 Walter Payton Man of the Year Award nominees are:
Trey McBride from the Arizona Cardinals
Grady Jarrett from the Atlanta Falcons
Roquan Smith from the Baltimore Ravens
Dion Dawkins from the Buffalo Bills
Adam Thielen from the Carolina Panthers
Andrew Billings from the Chicago Bears
Orlando Brown Jr from the Cincinnati Bengals
Denzel Ward from the Cleveland Browns
Zack Martin from the Dallas Cowboys
Alex Singleton from the Denver Broncos
Jared Goff from the Detroit Lions
Kenny Clark from the Green Bay Packers
Jalen Pitre from the Houston Texans
Kenny Moore II from the Indianapolis Colts
Arik Armstead from the Jacksonville Jaguars
Travis Kelce from the Kansas City Chiefs
Maxx Crosby from the Las Vegas Raiders
Cameron Dicker from the Los Angeles Chargers
Kyren Williams from the Los Angeles Rams
Alec Ingold from the Miami Dolphins
C.J. Ham from the Minnesota Vikings
Deatrich Wise Jr from the New England Patriots
Cameron Jordan from the New Orleans Saints
Darius Slayton from the New York Giants
Solomon Thomas from the New York Jets
Brandon Graham from the Philadelphia Eagles
Larry Ogunjobi from the Pittsburgh Steelers
Curtis Robinson from the San Francisco 49ers
Uchenna Nwosu from the Seattle Seahawks
Mike Evans from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Jeffrey Simmons from the Tennessee Titans
Bobby Wagner from the Washington Commanders

Fans can participate in the voting on X, or going to NFL.com/ManOfTheYear.

The nominee who earns the most votes will earn an additional $35,000 donation to the charity of their choice; courtesy of Nationwide.

Voting runs through January 6, 2025.

The Man of the Year award was first introduced in 1970 but was renamed for Hall of Famer Walter Payton in 1999.  Current players Cameron Heyward and Russell Wilson of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Dak Prescott of the Dallas Cowboys, and Calais Campbell of the Miami Dolphins are all Man of the Year winners and wear a patch on their uniforms signifying that honour.

The 2024 nominees will wear a decal on their helmets.