Cameron Heyward named Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year presented by Nationwide
Heyward, other 31 nominees celebrated as community champions
In the days leading up to the highly anticipated Super Bowl LVIII matchup between the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers, the NFL community gathered in Las Vegas to celebrate a different kind of champion as Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle Cameron Heyward was announced as the 2023 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year presented by Nationwide. The award was presented during the primetime NFL Honors broadcast on CBS.
This award honors the memory of the beloved Chicago Bears running back affectionately known as “Sweetness” by celebrating an NFL player who excels both on the field and in serving his community. Heyward is the fifth Steelers player to receive the award, following Franco Harris (1976), Joe Green (1979), Lynn Swann (1981) and Jerome Bettis (2001).
Heyward continues to serve as a pillar of the Pittsburgh community through the work done by his foundation, The Heyward House. In 2023, he hosted his second annual Cam’s Kindness Week where he met with local students and talked about overcoming adversity, coping with grief and achieving goals. The week was capped off with the opening of a new Craig’s Closet, which provides young men with free dress clothes for interviews, internships, and more.
In recognition of his outstanding charitable contributions, Heyward will receive a donation of $250,000 to benefit a charity of his choice. Each of the other 31 nominees representing their respective NFL clubs will also receive a donation of up to $55,000 in support of their chosen causes or charities. All donations are courtesy of the NFL Foundation and Nationwide.
“Nationwide is thrilled to congratulate Cameron Heyward on being named the 2023 Walter Payton Man of the Year,” said Ramon Jones, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for Nationwide. “As a company that is committed to protecting, serving and strengthening communities, we’re honored to celebrate Cameron’s dedication to improve the lives of others during our 10th year as presenting sponsor of this prestigious award.”
Since becoming the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year presenting sponsor in 2014, Nationwide has donated more than $2.3 million to the foundations and causes represented by the nominees.
To learn more about Heyward and the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award, visit www.nfl.com/manoftheyear.