49ers’ nominee for Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award revealed

The NFL has revealed its 32 nominees for the prestigious Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award, which honors players for their excellence on and off the field. Representing the San Francisco 49ers is linebacker Curtis Robinson. Although Robinson appeared in three games this season before a torn ACL placed him on injured reserve on September 28, he has remained dedicated to his charitable efforts during his recovery.

The 49ers Communications staff provided the following press release.

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Dec. 5, 2024 – The San Francisco 49ers announced that linebacker Curtis Robinson has been selected as the team's nominee for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award presented by Nationwide. The Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award is the league's most prestigious honor, recognizing players who excel on the field and demonstrate a steadfast commitment to creating a positive impact beyond the game.

Robinson's commitment to serving communities around the Bay Area has been recognized throughout his tenure as a 49er but is especially notable this year. Just four days after a devastating season-ending knee injury, Robinson was at a local children's hospital uplifting patients' spirits and two weeks after surgery, he was reading to local elementary school students.

Always the first to sign up for a 49ers Community Tuesday, he currently leads overall player volunteerism hours for the second-consecutive season. Whether it's emphasizing education, coaching young athletes, animal therapy with the Humane Society or encouraging cancer survivors during Crucial Catch, Robinson has continued to build on his community impact this year.

While Robinson's platform is dedicated to raising awareness for all cause areas, education is a consistent theme in his community efforts. Inspired by his mother's career as a college professor, Robinson understands the importance of equal access to quality education, no matter your socioeconomic background. He stressed the importance of furthering education to nearly 100 high school female student-athletes during an empowerment conference, shopped with and outfitted 14 teachers from Oakland with new clothes for the school year, and mentored nearly 50 youth from social justice organizations.

Robinson is also an advocate for the 49ers Foundation's mission to empower and educate youth, regularly attending their daily programming. Robinson's support extends to educators, personally donating money to cover school supplies for African American Female Excellence and Urban Ed Academy teachers, programs that ensure every school has a Black teacher, so students see themselves reflected in their leaders.

"My parents instilled in me to be involved, give back to the community," said Robinson. "I witnessed the sacrifices they made to ensure I had access to resources I needed to pursue my dreams. As a kid, I thought that's what was normal. They set the standard for me to use my platform to pay it forward and bridge the gap for others."

The NFL Communications staff provided the following press release.

NEW YORK – Dec. 5, 2024 – The NFL announced today the 32 nominees for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award presented by Nationwide. The Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award is the league's most revered honor, recognizing players who excel on the field and demonstrate a steadfast commitment to creating a positive impact beyond the game.

"The Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award celebrates Walter's enduring legacy of excellence on the field and compassion off it," said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. "This award is the league's most prestigious honor, and we are proud to recognize these 32 outstanding men for the positive impact they make in their communities every day."

Below is a list of this year's nominees:

All 32 nominees will be recognized for their achievements during the week leading up to Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans. The winner of the 2024 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award presented by Nationwide will be announced during NFL Honors, a primetime awards special to air nationally on FOX and the NFL Network on Thursday, Feb. 6.

This year's nominees support myriad causes and initiatives off the field that are important to them and their communities, including empowering youth to lead healthy lifestyles, uplifting underserved communities and many other notable efforts. Each nominee will receive up to $55,000 and the award winner will receive up to a $265,000 donation to their charity of choice. All donations are made possible by the NFL Foundation and Nationwide Foundation.

Fans are once again encouraged to participate in Nationwide's annual Charity Challenge, a social media and online contest that allows fans to show support for their favorite Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year nominee. Fans can vote on X/Twitter by posting #WPMOYChallenge along with the last name/X handle of their chosen nominee or by voting directly on NFL.com/ManOfTheYear. The nominee who receives the most collective hashtag mentions and online votes will win an additional $35,000 donation from Nationwide to the charity of their choice, with the runner-up receiving $10,000 and the third-place winner receiving $5,000. Charity Challenge voting takes place from Thursday, Dec. 5 to Monday, Jan. 6, 2025.

"As presenting sponsor of the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award, Nationwide is pleased to recognize this year's class of remarkable nominees. Each player's unwavering dedication to their community truly sets them apart," said Ramon Jones, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at Nationwide. "These men are so much more than football players, and Nationwide is proud to support and amplify their causes."

First established in 1970, the national award was renamed in 1999 after the late Hall of Fame Chicago Bears legend Walter Payton. Since then, 57 legends and players have received this esteemed award, including four current players, Cam Heyward of the Pittsburgh Steelers – who was last year's Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year – Dak Prescott of the Dallas Cowboys, Russell Wilson of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Calais Campbell of the Miami Dolphins. Each of these players wears a Man of the Year patch on their jerseys throughout the season to recognize the outstanding contributions they have made to the game and their communities.

Beginning Week 14 and continuing through the end of the season, each of this year's nominees will also wear a special Man of the Year helmet decal in recognition of their accomplishments on and off the field. Select stadiums will also display goal post wraps adorned with the NFL Man of the Year trophy silhouette.

New this year, the NFL, Nationwide and Omaha Productions are teaming up to air a one-hour special on ESPN highlighting the off-field efforts of several Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year nominees. The broadcast special will air on ESPN on Tuesday, Dec. 24 at 6 p.m. ET and will feature interviews with several of this year's nominees, including Maxx Crosby of the Las Vegas Raiders, Arik Armstead of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Solomon Thomas of the New York Jets and Bobby Wagner of the Washington Commanders.

To learn more about the stories of all 32 nominees and for more information about the award, please visit NFL.com/ManOfTheYear.