Walter Payton Man of the Year award

Over the course of his 16-year career, Manning worked with various charities such as the March of Dimes, Guiding Eyes for the Blind, American Red Cross and the Scholastic’s ClassroomCare program. Both he and his wife also founded the Eli and Abby Manning Children’s Clinics in Jackson, Mississippi.

In 2016, Manning and Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald were both honored as co-winners of the Walter Payton Man of the Year award.

Following this award, Manning also started “Tackle Kids’ Cancer” in partnership with Hackensack University Medical Center.

Throughout his career, Manning proved to be a class act raising money and awareness while spending time with patients and doctors at several hospitals and care centers on a regular basis. More than anything he ever did on the field, Eli’s greatest value came to families in need off of it.