The Denver Broncos have nominated safety Justin Simmons for the 2019 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award, the team announced Thursday. The award “recognizes a player for his outstanding leadership both on the field and in the community,” the team said in a statement.
Each of the league’s 32 teams nominates a player for the award each year and the nominees receive a donation up to $50,000 to the charity of their choice. The winner will be announced during “NFL Honors” on the eve of Super Bowl LIV (Feb. 1) on Fox. The winner will receive a $250,000 donation to the charity of his choice.
Simmons has logged over 3,500 minutes of volunteer work this year with 20 different local organizations including Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Denver, Children’s Hospital Colorado and the Denver Rescue Mission. Simmons won the team’s Community Ambassador Award in 2017 and 2018.
Simmons will wear a Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year helmet decal in the team’s final three games of the season.
Denver’s most recent nominees for the award were outside linebacker Von Miller (2018) and cornerback Chris Harris Jr. (2017). John Elway is the only Broncos player who has won the award, back in 1992.
