Quarterback Matthew Stafford is the Detroit Lions‘ nominee for the 2018 Walter Payton Man of the Year Award. If selected as the winner, Stafford would be the first Lions player to bring home the honor.
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The Walter Payton Man of the Year Award is presented to honor a player’s volunteer and charity work, as well as his excellence on the field. Each of the 32 NFL teams gets one nominee, and the winner is announced at the NFL Honors show on Feb. 2, the day before Super Bowl LIII in Atlanta.
Making a difference on and off the field.
32 teams. 32 nominees for the 2018 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award. #WPMOY https://t.co/g8yLY9lYh7
— NFL (@NFL) December 6, 2018
Love him or hate him, there is no denying that Matthew Stafford is a worthy nominee. Some of Stafford’s most notable contributions to the community have come through S.A.Y. Detroit, an organization which aims to improve the lives of disadvantaged citizens through shelter, food, care, volunteer efforts, and education.
In 2015, Stafford donated $1 million to revive and maintain the Lipke Recreation Center after city budget cuts forced the center to close. Thanks to a partnership with the City of Detroit, S.A.Y Detroit, and Stafford’s own Score 7 Charitable Foundation, the Lipke Recreation Center was reopened as the S.A.Y Detroit Play Center in the Osborn neighborhood of Detroit.
He’s donated tickets to first-responders, worked with organizations to reach out to kids about health and wellness, and also been known to privately help various causes and people in need under the condition it’s not publicized.
Since his rookie season back in 2009, Matthew Stafford has also regularly adopted multiple deserving families in Detroit that are struggling during the holidays. In 2016, he and wife Kelly embraced the families of two slain police officers.
As a nominee, Matthew Stafford will wear a Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year helmet decal throughout the remainder of the season in recognition of his accomplishments on and off the field.
2018 Walter Payton Man of the Year Nominees
New this year, all 32 team nominees for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award will be highlighted as finalists and recognized for their important work during the weekend leading up to Super Bowl LIII.
$500,000 will be donated in the name of the 2018 winner. $250,000 will be donated in his name to expand Character Playbook. Character Playbook is an education initiative focused on teaching middle school students how to build healthy relationships and make good decisions sponsored by the NFL and The United Way. An additional donation of $250,000 will be donated to the charity of the winner’s choice.
The other 31 nominees will receive a donation of $50,000 in their name to expand Character Playbook and an additional donation of up to $50,000 to their charity of choice. All donations are courtesy of the NFL Foundation, Nationwide, and United Way Worldwide.
Below is a list of the 2018 nominees:
| Player | Position | Team |
| Antonie Bethea | S | Arizona Cardinals |
| Grady Jarrett | DT | Atlanta Falcons |
| Brandon Carr | CB | Baltimore Ravens |
| Lorenzo Alexander | LB | Buffalo Bills |
| Julius Peppers | DE | Carolina Panthers |
| Trey Burton | TE | Chicago Bears |
| Carlos Dunlap | DE | Cincinnati Bengals |
| Christian Kirksey | LB | Cleveland Browns |
| Dak Prescott | QB | Dallas Cowboys |
| Von Miller | OLB | Denver Broncos |
| Matthew Stafford | QB | Detroit Lions |
| Kenny Clark | DT | Green Bay Packers |
| Whitney Mercilus | LB | Houston Texans |
| Jabaal Sheard | DE | Indianapolis Colts |
| Blake Bortles | QB | Jacksonville Jaguars |
| Dustin Colquitt | P | Kansas City Chiefs |
| Corey Liuget | DT | Los Angeles Chargers |
| Andrew Whitworth | LT | Log Angeles Rams |
| Kenny Stills | WR | Miami Dolphins |
| Kyle Rudolph | TE | Minnesota Vikings |
| Devin McCourty | DB | New England Patriots |
| Mark Ingram II | RB | New Orleans Saints |
| Michael Thomas | S & ST | New York Giants |
| Kelvin Beachum | OL | New York Jets |
| Marshawn Lynch | RB | Oakland Raiders |
| Chris Long | DE | Philadelphia Eagles |
| Cameron Heyward | DT | Pittsburgh Steelers |
| Robbie Gould | K | San Francisco 49ers |
| K.J. Wright | LB | Seattle Seahawks |
| Gerald McCoy | DT | Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
| Jurrel Casey | DT | Tennessee Titans |
| Vernon Davis | TE | Washington Redskins |
Man of the Year Charity Challenge
To further celebrate and promote the 32 team nominees for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award, the NFL will be running the third annual Charity Challenge sponsored by Nationwide.
Between December 6th and January 13th, fans are encouraged to post #WPMOYChallenge and their favorite nominee’s last name on social media.
The nominee who receives the most hashtag mentions will win an additional $25,000 donation to his charity of choice, while the runner-up will receive $10,000 and the third-place finisher will receive $5,000.
