Walter Payton Man of the Year Nominees

The NFL announced the 32 nominees for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award on Thursday. Each nominee is selected as their team's Man of the Year for their philanthropy and community impact. Named for the Chicago Bears great running back, the Walter Payton Award is considered one of the League's most prestigious awards. The winner will be announced during NFL Honors, the NFL's annual awards show that airs on the eve of the Super Bowl. This year it will be held February 3rd in Minneapolis.

2017 WALTER PAYTON NFL MAN OF THE YEAR 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

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Clinton McDonald

Tennessee Titans: Wesley Woodyard

Washington Redskins: Nick Sundberg

It's likely that J.J. Watt's name is already being engraved on the large trophy but all 32 nominees are deserving of the award.

All of these players, and so many others, have done fantastic work in their communities. Too often we hear about the bad things that players do. We should spend at least as much time focusing on the good things. But that isn't as fun. At least the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award focuses our attention on the good things once a year.

Seven of the 32 nominees were nominated for their great work in raising awareness of social injustices. It's great that these men are being recognized. It'd be even better if their work wasn't necessary. A civilized society simply shouldn't persecute or discriminate against a person simply because they are born a certain way.

As a Cal alum it's great to see three Golden Bears among the nominees.
Lorenzo Alexander
Cameron Jordan
Nick Sundberg

Congratulations and many thanks to the 32 nominees, as well as their teammates, that do great things to make their communities a better place.