The NFL unveiled its 32 nominees for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award on Thursday. This is considered to be the league's highest honor, recognizing players who have created a positive impact beyond the field. Each team nominates a player for the award, and the winner will be announced at the upcoming NFL Honors ceremony before Super Bowl LIX.
"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, via NFL.com. "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 rundown of each of the nominees for 2024.
| 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 |
The winner of the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award will receive up to a $265,000 donation to their charity of choice, while each nominee will receive up to $55,000 to their respective charity. Beginning in Week 14, each nominee will wear a special Man of the Year decal on their helmet to acknowledge their candidacy and charitable efforts. Meanwhile, the eventual winner will don a Man of the Year patch on his jersey for the remainder of his career.
The award was officially established in 1970, but renamed in 1999 to honor late Hall of Fame running back and Chicago Bears legend Walter Payton. Past winners include Cameron Hayward, Dak Prescott, Andrew Whitworth, and Russell Wilson.
The NFL Honors will air on Thursday, Feb. 6 on NFL Network and FOX at 9 p.m. ET.