NEW YORK (AP) — J.J. Watt, Malcolm Jenkins, Greg Olsen and Alex Smith are among the 32 nominees for the Walter Payton Man of the Year award given by the NFL.
Each team nominates one man for the award, which honors a player’s work away from the game and his demeanor during play.
A selection panel is asked to vote for players based on involvement in the community and performance on the playing field.
Finalists are announced in January during halftime of the AFC championship game and the winner will be revealed at NFL Honors, when The Associated Press announces its individual award winners, on the night before the Super Bowl.
The panel consists of Commissioner Roger Goodell; NFL Senior Vice President of Social Responsibility Anna Isaacson; Pro Football Hall of Famer LaDainian Tomlinson, who won the award in 2006; last year’s winners, Larry Fitzgerald and Eli Manning; representatives from NBC, Fox, CBS and ESPN; two national sports writers; Connie Payton, Walter’s widow; Brian Gallagher, the CEO of United Way Worldwide; and Terrance Williams, the CMO of Nationwide, which is the presenting sponsor of the award.
The nominees:
- Arizona Cardinals — Patrick Peterson
- Atlanta Falcons — Ben Garland
- Baltimore Ravens — Benjamin Watson
- Buffalo Bills — Lorenzo Alexander
- Carolina Panthers — Greg Olsen
- Chicago Bears — Sam Acho
- Cincinnati Bengals — Michael Johnson
- Cleveland Browns — Randall Telfer
- Dallas Cowboys — Travis Frederick
- Denver Broncos — Chris Harris Jr.
- Detroit Lions — Haloti Ngata
- Green Bay Packers — Clay Matthews
- Houston Texans — J.J. Watt
- Indianapolis Colts — Darius Butler
- Jacksonville Jaguars — Malik Jackson
- Kansas City Chiefs — Alex Smith
- Los Angeles Chargers — Casey Hayward
- Los Angeles Rams — Rodger Saffold
- Miami Dolphins — Kenny Stills
- Minnesota Vikings — Kyle Rudolph
- New England Patriots — Nate Solder
- New Orleans Saints — Cameron Jordan
- New York Giants — Mark Herzlich
- New York Jets — Quincy Enunwa
- Oakland Raiders — Bruce Irvin
- Philadelphia Eagles — Malcolm Jenkins
- Pittsburgh Steelers — Cameron Heyward
- San Francisco 49ers — Bradley Pinion
- Seattle Seahawks — Michael Bennett
- Tennessee Titans — Wesley Woodyard
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers — Clinton McDonald
- Washington Redskins — Nick Sundberg
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