Walter Payton Man of the Year Nominees

On Wednesday, the NFL announced the nominees for the Walter Payton Man of the Year award. The award recognizes a player for his excellence on and off the football field. It has gradually become one of the most prestigious awards. Three of the nominees will be selected as finalists in January. The winner will be announced in Houston at NFL Honors, the league's two-hour prime time awards show on the eve of the Super Bowl.

2016 WALTER PAYTON NFL MAN OF THE YEAR TEAM NOMINEES

Larry Fitzgerald (Arizona Cardinals)

Matt Ryan (Atlanta Falcons)

Steve Smith (Baltimore Ravens)

Eric Wood (Buffalo Bills)

Greg Olsen (Carolina Panthers)

Sam Acho (Chicago Bears)

Andy Dalton (Cincinnati Bengals)

Joe Thomas (Cleveland Browns)

Sean Lee (Dallas Cowboys)

Virgil Green (Denver Broncos)

Don Carey (Detroit Lions)

Jayrone Elliott (Green Bay Packers)

Brian Cushing (Houston Texans)

Joe Reitz (Indianapolis Colts)

Julius Thomas (Jacksonville Jaguars)

Alex Smith (Kansas City Chiefs)

Johnny Hekker (Los Angeles Rams)

Mike Pouncey (Miami Dolphins)

Chad Greenway (Minnesota Vikings)

Rob Gronkowski (New England Patriots)

Roman Harper (New Orleans Saints)

Eli Manning (New York Giants)

Brandon Marshall (New York Jets)

Dan Williams (Oakland Raiders)

Jon Dorenbos (Philadelphia Eagles)

Arthur Moats (Pittsburgh Steelers)

Jeremiah Attaochu (San Diego Chargers)

Torrey Smith (San Francisco 49ers)

Cliff Avril (Seattle Seahawks)

Vincent Jackson (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

Jurrell Casey (Tenneesee Titans)

Pierre Garcon (Washington Redskins)

So many players are doing so many great things in their communities. All 32 of the above players, and so many others, are deserving of the Walter Payton Man of Year award. Too often we hear of the bad things that a few players do. We never hear about all of the great things that the vast majority of the players do.