Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award Nominees

It’s “good guy” season in the NFL. The Walter Payton Man of the Year nominees were announced last week. The Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award nominees were announced a day later. The latter is the newer and lesser known of the two awards honoring players doing good things. The Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award was created in 2014 and presented each year to an NFL player who demonstrates the qualities of on-field sportsmanship, including fair play, respect for the game and opponents, and integrity in competition. The award honors and is named after the late founding owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Hall of Famer, Art Rooney, Sr.

The whittling down process is a little different for the Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award. A panel of former players-Warrick Dunn, Hall of Famer Curtis Martin, Leonard Wheeler, and 2014 Rooney Award winner Larry Fitzgerald-will select eight finalists (4 in the NFC and 4 in the AFC) from the 32 nominees. Those eight players will be listed on the Pro Bowl ballot when players vote later in December. So, the players ultimately select the greatest sportsman among them.

The 32 Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award Nominees:

• Arizona Cardinals: Budda Baker
• Atlanta Falcons: Jake Matthews
• Baltimore Ravens: Lamar Jackson
• Buffalo Bills: Josh Allen
• Carolina Panthers: Frankie Luvu
• Chicago Bears: Roquan Smith
• Cincinnati Bengals: Stanley Morgan
• Cleveland Browns: Nick Chubb
• Dallas Cowboys: Dak Prescott
• Denver Broncos: Patrick Surtain II
• Detroit Lions: Jamaal Williams
• Green Bay Packers: Aaron Jones
• Houston Texans: Brandin Cooks
• Indianapolis Colts: DeForest Buckner
• Jacksonville Jaguars: Shaquill Griffin
• Kanas City Chiefs: Patrick Mahomes
• Las Vegas Raiders: Derek Carr
• Los Angeles Chargers: Derwin James
• Los Angeles Rams: Jordan Fuller
• Miami Dolphins: Jason McCourty
• Minnesota Vikings: Adam Thielen
• New England Patriots: Matthew Slater
• New Orleans Saints: Cameron Jordan
• New York Giants: James Bradberry
• New York Jets: C.J. Mosley
• Philadelphia Eagles: Darius Slay
• Pittsburgh Steelers: Ben Roethlisberger
• San Francisco 49ers: Kyle Juszczyk 
• Seattle Seahawks: Tyler Lockett
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Lavonte David
• Tennessee Titans: Derrick Henry
• Washington Football Team: Landon Collins
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• Five players were nominated for both the Walter Payton and Art Rooney Awards.
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• Dak Prescott
• Aaron Jones
• Cameron Jordan
• Tyler Lockett
• Derrick Henry 
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Seeing as he can be one of the more salty players on the Vikings it’s a little surprising to see Adam Thielen as the team’s nominee. He routinely shows great sportsmanship but he can get a little frisky. See his wonderful exchange with Bill Belichick from a few years ago. 

Congratulations and good luck to all nominees. Especially Thielen. 

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