Cowboys nominate DeMarcus Lawrence for Walter Payton Man of the Year Award

From @ToddBrock24f7: The DE follows in the footsteps of QB Dak Prescott, who won the 2022 award and surprised Lawrence with news of his nomination this week.

DeMarcus Lawrence has long been an agent of chaos on the field, making a career out of altering the game plans of opposing quarterbacks. But the Cowboys defensive end is also a relentless instrument of change off the field, too, and he’s being recognized for that work with his latest accolade.

Lawrence is the Cowboys’ nominee for the 2023 Walter Payton Man of the Year Award.

Quarterback Dak Prescott, who won the award last year, surprised Lawrence with the announcement on Monday.

Over his Cowboys tenure, Lawrence has been active in numerous charity and outreach efforts including the North Texas Food Bank, local Boys & Girls Clubs, and the education nonprofit Big Thought. He’s spent many hours visiting children’s hospitals and schools as well as lending a helping hand to small businesses, the homeless, afterschool programs, and essential workers in the DFW area.

“I’m a huge believer [that] you’re a product of your environment,” Lawrence says in a video profile on NFL.com. “So I just want to make sure I’m giving back to the kids, make sure I’m giving back to the community, because our community looks up to us as athletes and Dallas Cowboys. I just want to make sure they have that figure out in the streets with them, to be able to say, ‘You know what? He actually is a good guy. He stood by me when I was going through this or this and he had my back.’ Just like I have my guys’ back on the field, I want to have my people’s back off the field.”

Considered by the league its most prestigious honor, the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award recognizes commitment to philanthropy and community service as well as excellence on gameday. Each NFL team nominates one player annually, and a panel of judges that includes Commissioner Roger Goodell, the previous year’s winner, and former NFL players will select this year’s recipient.

The nominees from all 32 teams will wear a special helmet decal for the remainder of this season.

The Walter Payton Man of the Year Award winner is traditionally recognized during a Super Bowl pregame ceremony; he receives a $250,000 donation in his name to the charity of his choosing. He is also given a special uniform patch to wear on his jersey for the rest of his playing career.

The other 31 nominees receive up to $55,000 to be donated to their favorite charity as well, with monies coming from the NFL Foundation and award title sponsor Nationwide.

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The NFL Man of the Year Award was first handed out in 1970. It was renamed for Chicago Bears running back and noted humanitarian Walter Payton- the 1977 recipient- shortly after his 1999 passing.

The Cowboys have had four players win the award: Prescott in 2022, tight end Jason Witten in 2012, quarterback Troy Aikman in 1997, and quarterback Roger Staubach in 1978.

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