FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Patriots today announced Devin McCourty as its nominee for the WALTER PAYTON NFL MAN OF THE YEAR AWARD PRESENTED BY NATIONWIDE. Considered one of the league's most prestigious honors, the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award presented by Nationwide recognizes an NFL player for outstanding community service activities off the field, as well as excellence on the field. Each of the league's 32 nominees were announced today.
Throughout his career, McCourty has been one of the most active NFL players in the community. He is a member of the Players Coalition Task Force and serves as the Chair of the Players Coalition Education and Economic Advancement Committee. McCourty has advocated for several bills that successfully passed legislation in Massachusetts including "An Act Relative to Criminal Justice Reform" and the Student Opportunity Act.
He is an instrumental leader in the Patriots Players Social Justice Fund and the Kraft Family/Patriots Player Collaborative Fund, helping allocate significant funds to local grassroots organizations fighting for equity, working to end systemic racism and creating meaningful change in the community. McCourty has participated in roundtable discussions with other NFL players about racism and advocated for nonprofits redirecting gang-involved youth from incarceration to educational and employment opportunities.
McCourty is also working to bridge the economic divide in education. In March, as the COVID-19 stay at home orders began, he and his twin brother Jason purchased $90,000 worth of Chromebooks for students who did not have access to computers at home. They followed up with a $50,000 donation in early October to support technology needs for underserved high school students.
In addition to his efforts around social justice, Devin and Jason McCourty have raised more than $2 million through the McCourty Twins Tackle Sickle Cell campaign, helping to support research and families affected by sickle cell disease.
"We are happy to nominate Devin McCourty for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award," said Patriots Chairman and CEO Robert Kraft. "We are proud of Devin's accomplishments on the field as a New England Patriot, but even more so of his character and his contributions in the community. He has been a team leader since he first joined our team in 2010 and his hard work has helped us win three Super Bowl titles and 10 division titles. But his impact in New England extends beyond the football field, volunteering countless hours to help our community. He is consistently one of the most active players in the community and is always eager to volunteer."
"It is a great honor to be nominated for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award," said McCourty. "I recognize the opportunity that I have to use my platform to help make an impact in the community. I appreciate being nominated for this award because of the man that Walter Payton was and the legacy that he has left behind. Walter Payton embodied the spirit of community engagement. I am humbled to represent his legacy with this nomination, but it is even more important to continue the work and try to make a difference."
As a nominee, McCourty will wear a Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year helmet decal through the end of the season in recognition of his accomplishments on and off the field.
For the third year in a row, all 32 team winners will be highlighted as nominees and recognized for their important work during the weekend leading up to Super Bowl LV. The 2020 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year will be announced during NFL Honors, a primetime awards special to air the week of Super Bowl LV, on CBS.
All 32 nominees will receive a $40,000 donation in their name to their charity of choice. The winner of the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award will receive a $250,000 donation to the charity of his choice. All donations are courtesy of the NFL Foundation and Nationwide.
McCourty has elected to support the Rockland Community Foundation and its Chromebooks for Kids initiative.
Fans are encouraged to participate in Nationwide's 6th annual Charity Challenge, a social media campaign designed to support and promote team nominees. Fans can vote on Twitter by using #WPMOYChallenge followed by their favorite nominee's last name. The player whose unique hashtag is used the most between Dec. 10 and Jan 17 will receive a $25,000 contribution to their charity of choice, while the second and third place finishers will receive $10,000 and $5,000 donations, all courtesy of Nationwide. Hashtag information and official rules can be found at nfl.com/manoftheyear. New this year, fans can win NFL Shop gift cards and additional money for their favorite nominee's charity. Each Monday during the #WPMOYChallenge, Nationwide will ask fans to respond on Twitter with their favorite nominee and one randomly selected fan each week will win a $100 NFL Shop gift card and $2,500 for their favorite nominee's charity.
More information about the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award can be found at www.nfl.com/manoftheyear
