Walter Payton Man of the Year Nominees

The Walter Payton Man of the Year Award may not get the attention that goes to the MVP award. It may not even get the attention of the Comeback Player of the Year. Still, it is one of the most prestigious awards given out each year. There was a time when it warranted a public presentation of the award at the Super Bowl. Now, it is announced at the NFL Honors show with the rest of the postseason awards on the eve of the Super Bowl. The NFL's first Man of the Year Award was given to John Unitas in 1970. It wasn't named for Walter Payton then as he had yet to play in the NFL. It was simply called the NFL Man of the Year Award. It would be named for Payton in 1999. The Chicago Bears running did win the award that would one day carry his name in 1977.

A player from each team is nominated for the award. Three of the nominees will be selected as finalists. The winner will then be announced at the NFL Honors. 

Here are the 32 players nominated for the 2014 Walter Payton Man of the Year.

Calais Campbell, Arizona Cardinals

Matt Bryant, Atlanta Falcons

Torrey Smith, Baltimore Ravens

Fred Jackson, Buffalo Bills

Thomas Davis, Carolina Panthers

Jay Cutler, Chicago Bears

Vincent Rey, Cincinnati Bengals

Craig Robertson, Cleveland Browns

DeMarco Murray, Dallas Cowboys

Ben Garland, Denver Broncos

Stephen Tulloch, Detroit Lions

Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers

Andre Johnson, Houston Texans

Pat McAfee, Indianapolis Colts

Josh Scobee, Jacksonville Jaguars

Tamba Hali, Kansas City Chiefs

Olivier Vernon, Miami Dolphins

Chad Greenway, Minnesota Vikings

Devon McCourty, New England Patriots

Thomas Morstead, New Orleans Saints

Steve Weatherford, New York Giants

Muhammad Wilkerson, New York Jets

Marcel Reece, Oakland Raiders

Connor Barwin, Philadelphia Eagles

William Gay, Pittsburgh Steelers

Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers

Anquan Boldin, San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks, Russell Wilson

Johnny Hekker, St. Louis Rams

Vincent Jackson, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Jason McCourty, Tennessee Titans

Darrell Young, Washington Redskins

Congratulations to all of the nominees for the great things that they do off of the football field.