The Green Bay Packers — like every NFL team — get to choose one player every season for one the NFL’s most prestigious honors.
According to NFL.com, The Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year 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.
All nominees will wear a Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year helmet decal through the end of the season in recognition of their accomplishments on and off the field.
Additionally, all 32 nominees will be recognized for their achievements during the week leading up to Super Bowl LVIII. The 2023 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year winner will be announced during NFL Honors, a primetime awards special to air nationally on CBS on Thursday, Feb. 8.
Each nominee will receive up to a $55,000 donation, and the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award winner will receive a $250,000 donation to the charity of his choice. All donations are made possible by the NFL Foundation and Nationwide.
Green Bay Packers Select Walter Payton Man Of The Year Nominee
leaves the field after getting injured against the New Orleans Saints at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Dan Powers-USA TODAY Sports
The Packers are filled with high-character players who could be worthy of the honor, but with one of the youngest rosters in the NFL, they elected to choose a well-respected veteran as their 2023 nominee.
On Tuesday morning, the Green Bay Packers announced linebacker De’Vondre Campbell as their 2023 Walter Payton Man Of The Year representative on their official website.
“We are honored to nominate De’Vondre for this prestigious award,” said Packers President/CEO Mark Murphy. “He does so much work with his foundation, the De’Vondre Campbell Family Youth Foundation, to help families in need through football camps, donations and their Adopt A Family program. We are proud to highlight his dedication to the community and his excellence both on and off the field.”
According to the Packers’ official website, Campbell has demonstrated his character both on and off the field throughout his career, particularly through his work with his foundation, the De’Vondre Campbell Family Youth Foundation.
Founded in 2019, the foundation’s mission is to empower at-risk youth and families in need through resource distribution, scholarship, educational advancement and mentorship-based programming. It organizes community-centered events that directly provide relief, impact and create change for those in need.
Campbell and his foundation have taken their efforts to new heights in recent years. In addition to his annual football camp in his home community in Florida, he has demonstrated his passion for education with programs that focus on helping students and teachers gain access to resources and much needed school supplies. He provided $10,000 in teacher supply kits, paper, writing utensils and classroom supplies to a local elementary school in Green Bay, along with 200 backpacks and supply kids for families in need.
The foundation has also worked to address food insecurity by teaming up with local grocery stores to distribute hundreds of turkeys over the years to those in need for Thanksgiving. Campbell and his wife, Nicole, also have helped lead several distribution and volunteer sessions at Paul’s Pantry, a local Green Bay food pantry, to provide those in need with Campbell’s Chunky Soup. This fall, the pair also volunteered at Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin, packing holiday food boxes with volunteers.
De’Vondre Campbell Stepping Up In New Ways For Green Bay Packers
While it’s clear the Green Bay Packers’ star is involved in a bevy of community efforts through his foundation, the star linebacker continues to find more ways to give back and help those in need.
Additionally, Campbell’s annual Adopt a Family Program seeks out families in need to aid around the holidays. Last year, the program donating a sum of $50,000 in gifts, fulfilling every item on the Christmas wish lists of 25 families in need in both the Green Bay and Minnesota area.
He also went door-to-door delivering many of the gifts, from new appliances to toys to a new car. After being connected to one of the families through the Adopt a Family program, Campbell’s foundation also helped provide and gift a wedding to one of the families, providing over $30,000 in donations and in-kind support. This year, Adopt a Family is aiming to reach 35 families in need during the holidays.
So far, Campbell has been an anchor for the Green Bay Packers’ defense in 2023 with 56 total tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, a pass deflection and a fumble recovery, despite battling injuries throughout the season.
