For the second straight year and third time overall, a Kansas City Chiefs nominee for Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year presented by Nationwide has captured the top prize in Nationwide’s Charity Challenge. Powered by strong support from Chiefs Kingdom, safety Tyrann Mathieu was announced as the winner of the seventh annual Charity Challenge and a $25,000 contribution will be made to the Tyrann  Mathieu Foundation, courtesy of Nationwide. Mathieu’s win follows teammate Travis Kelce’s first-place finish last year. Former Chiefs safety Eric Berry won the inaugural Charity Challenge during the 2015-16 NFL season.

Mathieu established his charitable foundation to impact the lives of financially disadvantaged children and youth through encouragement, opportunities and resources to achieve their dreams in Kansas City and his hometown of New Orleans. The foundation’s signature programs include the Tyrann Mathieu Tech Zone, Tyrann’s Backpack Giveaway, Tyrann’s Turkeys, Tyrann’s Christmas Blessing and Heart of a Badger Youth Camp.

“I am incredibly humbled and overwhelmed with a sense of pride having been selected as this year’s Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Nationwide Charity Challenge winner,” said Mathieu. “It’s been a dream of mine for so many years to give back and to have a true impact. For my efforts to be recognized by others, it means I’m doing something right and that means everything to me. Thank you to all of the fans that voted for me for this incredible honor. I am further inspired to continue to do more and reach higher.”

Nationwide is the presenting sponsor of the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award which is given to the player who demonstrates excellence on the field and in his community. Nationwide launched Charity Challenge to further elevate and promote the work that each of the 32 nominees are doing to improve the lives of others. The six-week Twitter promotion, which ran from Dec. 7, 2021 to Jan. 17, 2022, gave NFL fans the opportunity to show support for their favorite nominees and offer players a chance to earn donations from Nationwide to benefit their charity of choice.

“Nationwide created the Charity Challenge to drum up a friendly competition between nominees while showcasing the impressive impact these players are making in their communities,” said Ramon Jones, executive vice president and chief marketing officer at Nationwide. “Congratulations to Tyrann for winning this year’s Challenge and many thanks to all of the fans and nominees who participated.”

Indianapolis Colts cornerback Kenny Moore II finished second in voting while Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Harrison Phillips finished third. Nationwide will contribute $10,000 to the charity of Moore’s choice and $5,000 to Phillips’ designated beneficiary.

During the #WPMOYChallenge promotion, fans used the 32 different team nominees’ hashtags more than 2.9 million times.

The 2021 NFL season marks the eighth year of Nationwide’s sponsorship of the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award. Since 2014, Nationwide has contributed more than $1.3 million to the charitable foundations represented by the various nominees.

The winner of the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award presented by Nationwide will be announced during the NFL Honors broadcast on Thursday, February 10, the week of Super Bowl LVI, at 9 p.m. ET on ABC.

For more information on the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award presented by Nationwide, please visit www.nfl.com/manoftheyear.