The Carolina Panthers have made Julius Peppers their nominee for this year’s Walter Payton Man of the Year award.
Julius Peppers is the Panthers’ nominee for Walter Payton Man of the Year award.
— Joe Person (@josephperson) December 6, 2018
Peppers started a relief fund this year after Hurricane Florence, made multiple trips to help in the affected areas.
You can see the full list of nominees in this article from ESPN. The winner of the award will receive $500,000 donated in their name, with half going to the Character Playbook and the rest going to a charity of the winner’s choice. He’ll also get a sweet patch on his jersey for the rest of his career. The other 31 nominees will receive 20% of what the winner receives, and all nominees will wear a special decal on their helmets for the rest of the season.
After Hurricane Florence devastated the Carolina coasts, the future Hall of Famer started the Julius Peppers Hurricane Florence relief fund with a $100,000 donation and calls for his teammates to do the same. He also spent a couple of his off days during the season visiting areas that were most afflicted by the storms.
Peppers has always been known as a terror on the field but gets little credit for what he does off it. It’s a welcome change to see a man who does so much good work behind the scenes finally get some recognition for his work. And a Man of the Year trophy would really look nice in that Hall of Fame trophy case Peppers has been filling.