Nationwide has announced that Kansas City Chiefs S Tyrann Mathieu has won the Walter Payton Man of the Year Charity Challenge.
Separate from the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award, which will be presented at the NFL honors in February, the Charity Challenge rewards a player with $25,000 donated to a charity of their choice. Mathieu, of course, chose to receive the donation at his foundation, which works to impact the lives of financially disadvantaged youth in Kansas City and New Orleans, Louisiana.
Chiefs fans were able to vote for Mathieu to win the charity challenge on Twitter from Dec. 7 through Jan. 17. Over that past month-plus, he’s fluctuated between first and second place, but Chiefs Kingdom helped Mathieu finish strong and win the award. The #WPMOYChallenge hashtag used in voting was tweeted 2.9 million times according to Nationwide’s tracking data.
We’re excited to announce @Mathieu_Era from the @Chiefs as the winner of our #WPMOY @NFL Charity Challenge. To help support Tyrann’s community impact, we’re donating $25,000 to @TM32_Foundation! #WPMOYChallenge https://t.co/8JXtgjETuv pic.twitter.com/p0Cll6ZqZG
— Nationwide (@Nationwide) January 18, 2022
“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,” Mathieu said, via Nationwide’s press release. “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.”
Mathieu follows in the footsteps of teammate Travis Kelce, who won the charity challenge last year. He’s also the third Chiefs player to win the charity challenge since it was formed back in 2015. Former Chiefs safety Eric Berry won in the inaugural season.
