The NFL announces the nominees for the 2024 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award, presented by Nationwide

All 32 nominees will be honored for their achievements in the week leading up to Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans. The winner of Nationwide’s 2024 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award will be announced during NFL Honors, a primetime awards special airing nationally on FOX and the NFL Network on Thursday, February 6 .

This year’s nominees support countless off-field causes and initiatives important to them and their communities, including empowering young people to live healthy lifestyles, supporting underserved communities, and many other notable endeavors. Each nominee will receive up to $55,000 and the honoree will receive a donation of up to $265,000 to the charity of their choice. All donations are made possible by the NFL Foundation and the Nationwide Foundation.

Fans are once again encouraged to participate in Nationwide’s annual Charity Challenge, a social media and online competition where fans can show their support for their favorite Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year candidate. Fans can vote on The candidate 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 second place receiving $10,000 and third place receiving $5,000 . Voting for the Charity Challenge will take place from Thursday, December 5th to Monday, January 6th, 2025.

“As presenting sponsor of the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Awards, Nationwide is pleased to recognize this year’s class of remarkable nominees. “Each player’s unwavering commitment to their community is what truly sets them apart,” said Ramon Jones, executive vice president and chief marketing officer at Nationwide. “These men are so much more than just football players and Nationwide is proud to support and promote 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 prestigious award, including four current players, Cameron Heyward of the Pittsburgh Steelers – who was last year’s Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year – Dak Prescott of the Dallas Cowboys and Russell Wilson of the…Pittsburgh Steelers and Calais Campbell of the Miami Dolphins. Each of these players will wear a Man of the Year patch on their jerseys throughout the season to recognize the outstanding contributions they have made to the sport and their communities.

Beginning in 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 sticker in recognition of their achievements on and off the field. Select stadiums will also display goalpost covers featuring 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 accomplishments of several Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year nominees. The special will air on Tuesday, December 24th at 6pm ET on ESPN 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 and 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 more information about the award, please visit NFL.com/ManOfTheYear.