By Lydia Jane Allison
Winner Announced at NFL Honors on Thursday, Feb. 6
NEW YORK – Dec. 5, 2024 – The NFL announced today the 32 nominees for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award presented by Nationwide. The Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award is the league’s most revered honor, recognizing players who excel on the field and demonstrate a steadfast commitment to creating a positive impact beyond the game.
“The Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award celebrates Walter’s enduring legacy of excellence on the field and compassion off it,” said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. “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.”
Below is a list of this year’s nominees:
| TEAM | NOMINEE |
| Arizona Cardinals | Trey McBride |
| Atlanta Falcons | Grady Jarrett |
| Baltimore Ravens | Roquan Smith |
| Buffalo Bills | Dion Dawkins |
| Carolina Panthers | Adam Thielen |
| Chicago Bears | Andrew Billings |
| Cincinnati Bengals | Orlando Brown Jr. |
| Cleveland Browns | Denzel Ward |
| Dallas Cowboys | Zack Martin |
| Denver Broncos | Alex Singleton |
| Detroit Lions | Jared Goff |
| Green Bay Packers | Kenny Clark |
| Houston Texans | Jalen Pitre |
| Indianapolis Colts | Kenny Moore II |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | Arik Armstead |
| Kansas City Chiefs | Travis Kelce |
| Las Vegas Raiders | Maxx Crosby |
| Los Angeles Chargers | Cameron Dicker |
| Los Angeles Rams | Kyren Williams |
| Miami Dolphins | Alec Ingold |
| Minnesota Vikings | C.J. Ham |
| New England Patriots | Deatrich Wise Jr. |
| New Orleans Saints | Cameron Jordan |
| New York Giants | Darius Slayton |
| New York Jets | Solomon Thomas |
| Philadelphia Eagles | Brandon Graham |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | Larry Ogunjobi |
| San Francisco 49ers | Curtis Robinson |
| Seattle Seahawks | Uchenna Nwosu |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Mike Evans |
| Tennessee Titans | Jeffery Simmons |
| Washington Commanders | Bobby Wagner |
All 32 nominees will be recognized for their achievements during the week leading up to Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans. The winner of the 2024 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award presented by Nationwide will be announced during NFL Honors, a primetime awards special to air nationally on FOX and the NFL Network on Thursday, Feb. 6.
This year’s nominees support myriad causes and initiatives off the field that are important to them and their communities, including empowering youth to lead healthy lifestyles, uplifting underserved communities and many other notable efforts. Each nominee will receive up to $55,000 and the award winner will receive up to a $265,000 donation to their charity of choice. All donations are made possible by the NFL Foundation and Nationwide Foundation.
Fans are once again encouraged to participate in Nationwide’s annual Charity Challenge, a social media and online contest that allows fans to show support for their favorite Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year nominee. Fans can vote on X/Twitter by posting #WPMOYChallenge along with the last name/X handle of their chosen nominee or by voting directly on NFL.com/ManOfTheYear. The nominee who receives the most collective hashtag mentions and online votes will win an additional $35,000 donation from Nationwide to the charity of their choice, with the runner-up receiving $10,000 and the third-place winner receiving $5,000. Charity Challenge voting takes place from Thursday, Dec. 5 to Monday, Jan. 6, 2025.
“As presenting sponsor of the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award, Nationwide is pleased to recognize this year’s class of remarkable nominees. Each player’s unwavering dedication to their community truly sets them apart,” said Ramon Jones, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at Nationwide. “These men are so much more than football players, and Nationwide is proud to support and amplify their causes.”
First established in 1970, the national award was renamed in 1999 after the late Hall of Fame Chicago Bears legend Walter Payton. Since then, 57 legends and players have received this esteemed award, including four current players, Cam Heyward of the Pittsburgh Steelers – who was last year’s Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year – Dak Prescott of the Dallas Cowboys, Russell Wilson of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Calais Campbell of the Miami Dolphins. Each of these players wears a Man of the Year patch on their jerseys throughout the season to recognize the outstanding contributions they have made to the game and their communities.
Beginning Week 14 and continuing through the end of the season, each of this year’s nominees will also wear a special Man of the Year helmet decal in recognition of their accomplishments on and off the field. Select stadiums will also display goal post wraps adorned with the NFL Man of the Year trophy silhouette.
New this year, the NFL, Nationwide and Omaha Productions are teaming up to air a one-hour special on ESPN highlighting the off-field efforts of several Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year nominees. The broadcast special will air on ESPN on Tuesday, Dec. 24 at 6 p.m. ET and will feature interviews with several of this year’s nominees, including Maxx Crosby of the Las Vegas Raiders, Arik Armstead of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Solomon Thomas of the New York Jets and Bobby Wagner of the Washington Commanders.
To learn more about the stories of all 32 nominees and for more information about the award, please visit NFL.com/ManOfTheYear.
COURTESY NFL COMMUNICATIONS
