Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald and New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning were named co-winners of the Walter Payton Man of the Year award Saturday night, capping the annual NFL Honors program at the Wortham Theater Center.
Carolina Panthers tight end Greg Olsen was the other finalist. Olsen said Friday he was just glad to be in the running for the award that teammate Thomas Davis won two years ago.
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“To be a part of the finalists and to have the support of (presenting sponsor) Nationwide and the Walter Payton family and just everyone associated with this award, we feel like we’ve already won,” Olsen told the Observer on Friday.
It was just the third time since the award was established in 1970 that there were co-winners. Both Manning and Fitzgerald were finalists previously.
Olsen became the first tight end in NFL history to post three consecutive 1,000-yard seasons in 2016 while earning his third Pro Bowl berth in as many years.
Olsen and his wife Kara started the Receptions for Research Foundation in 2009 after watching his mother successfully battle breast cancer.
But when their son TJ was born with a severe heart condition in 2012, Olsen turned his charitable focus to helping other families with children with congenital heart defects.
Since launching the HEARTest Yard Fund in 2013, Olsen has distributed more than $1.2 million to help families defray the costs of nursing care during the first six months of the baby’s life.
Joseph Person: 704-358-5123, @josephperson
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