The Browns have revealed their nomination for Walter Payton Man of the Year

Anthony Walker Jr., a linebacker with the Browns, believed that a Thanksgiving-related question was being thrown at him by his friend Greg Newsome II and the social media staff.

Rather than inquiring about accompaniments or customs, Newsome shared some shocking information with the fellow Northwestern alumnus.

“What does it feel like to be a nominee for the Walter Payton Man of the Year in 2023?” In the Browns’ video, Newsome posed the question. Then Walker’s teammates surrounded him.

One of the highest honors in the league, it recognizes NFL players for their community service and success both on and off the field.

During Super Bowl week, each team’s 32 nominees will get recognition for their accomplishments. The 2023 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year winner will be revealed on Thursday, February 8 during NFL Honors, a primetime awards show on CBS.

The Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year winner will receive a $250,000 donation to the charity of his choice, while each nominee will receive a donation of up to $55,000. Nationwide and the NFL Foundation are responsible for making all gifts possible.

“I’m extremely honored to be the Browns Nominee for this year’s Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award and so thankful for how the Cleveland community’s embraced me since joining the team in 2021,” Walker said in a release. When you were a child, you may have heard that this was a very distinguished honor. I appreciate this nomination from the Cleveland Browns organization as a whole. I am appreciative to my family for imparting in me the values of education, faith, and football.

“Being a teacher and football coach, my father had a major influence on how I turned out as a man. I take tremendous satisfaction in being an excellent teammate and in giving back to my communities, with a focus on youth education. Being named the Walter Payton Man of the Year by the Cleveland Browns makes me feel really humble.

Walker is passionate about education because his father coaches football and is a teacher at Miami’s Monsignor Pace High School.

Walker joined the Browns in 2021 and has spent the last two seasons leading the team as captain. His involvement with the organization’s Stay in the Game! Attendance Network, which promotes student attendance and attempts to lower chronic absenteeism, has been substantial. This past weekend, the cause was highlighted on his cleats for My Cause, My Cleats. He went to a nearby elementary school before the game, where fifteen pupils got to help design his cleats.

In honor of the inaugural Stay in the Game! Walker, the spokesman for Attendance Network, has taken on a persona of his own. Walker contributes to the majority of the Stay in the Game! school visits and works on promotional movies for school attendance with the Browns Foundation crew.

In September, Walker also held his own back-to-school ceremony at Shaker Heights Middle School, where he gave 100 pupils ice cream, school supplies, and backpacks. Walker held a Turkey Bowl Classic at the Browns stadium during Thanksgiving week for children and families from the East Cleveland City Schools District. The students participated in a flag football competition and had a Thanksgiving lunch after being invited due to their excellent attendance.

Along with his zeal for social justice, the linebacker chaired two of the Browns JumpStart Small Business Impact Showcase panels as a judge. The Browns and JumpStart have partnered for two years, during which time the team has showcased small, minority, and black-owned businesses in a fundraising competition akin to a shark tank.

Dee and Jimmy Haslam stated in a release that Anthony Walker “has inspired others through his hard work and leadership both on and off the field since joining the Cleveland Browns.” Anthony is leaving a remarkable legacy for himself and has dedicated a great deal of time to giving back to the Cleveland community. We are incredibly delighted to have him as our nominee for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year in 2023.

Walker is the team’s nominee, and through the end of the season, he will sport a Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year helmet sticker.

Fans are invited to take part in Nationwide’s annual Charity Challenge this year, which is an online and social media competition that lets supporters cheer on their preferred Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year nominee. Voters have two options for casting their ballots: directly on NFL.com/ManOfTheYear or on X, formerly known as Twitter, by posting #WPMOYChallenge along with the name and X account of their preferred nominee.

The nominee who garners the most number of votes and hashtag mentions will get an additional $35,000 from Nationwide to be donated to their preferred charity. The runner-up will receive $10,000, and the third-place winner will receive $5,000. Voting for the Charity Challenge is open from December 5 through January 8.