LOCALS IN THE NFL
Bobby Wagner, Kyle Van Noy Nominated For NFL Man Of Year Award
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Linebackers Bobby Wagner of the Seattle Seahawks and Kyle Van Noy of the New England Patriots were named as nominees for the NFL’s Walter Payton Man of the Year Award.
Wagner and Van Noy were nominated for the prestigious award by their teams on December 12.
The former Utah State and BYU linebackers are two of the thirty-two NFL players up for the Man of the Year honors.
The NFL award “recognizes an NFL player for his excellence on and off the field. The award was established in 1970. It was renamed in 1999 after the late Hall of Fame Chicago Bears running back, Walter Payton. Each team nominates one player who has had a significant positive impact on his community.”
The winner of the award receives $250,000 to donate to charity while the other nominees get $50,000 to donate.
Alongside the award, the NFL has set up a charity challenge to support the nominees. Fans are able to vote for their favorite nominated player by tweeting #WPMOYChallenge on Twitter along with the player’s last name.
The nominee with the most tweets will get an additional $25,000 to donate to charity. The challenge’s second and third place players will receive $10,000 and $5,000 respectively, to contribute to a charitable cause.
At the time of this article’s publication, Van Noy ranked No. 2 in the Twitter Challenge followed by Wagner at No. 5.
The former Aggie has helped those in need through the Make-A-Wish Foundation as well as charitable efforts to fight homelessness in Seattle.
The former Cougar along with his wife Marissa Van Noy, set up the Van Noy Valor Foundation that works with adopted, disadvantaged, and foster children.
Both players run charitable activities during the holiday season such as shopping sprees and Christmas tree giveaways for those in need.
Wagner is currently in his eighth season with Seattle. Earlier this season, he became the franchise’s all-time leading tackler. The former USU LB won Super Bowl XLVIII with the Seahawks in 2014.
Van Noy is a two-time Super Bowl champion after winning the big game with the Patriots. He was a member of the championship teams in 2017 and 2019. He is currently in his sixth NFL season.
