The NFL revealed the 32 nominees for the 2022 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award Tuesday and left tackle Charles Leno Jr. was nominated by the Washington Commanders.
Leno is in his second year with Washington after signing as a free agent in May 2021. In addition to his terrific play on the field, the former Pro Bowl offensive tackle is extremely active in the Washington community.
Leno and his wife Jen started the organization, Beyond the Entertainment, in 2019 to serve two purposes, courtesy of Commanders.com:
“Beyond the Entertainer,” which was started in 2019 by the Leno family, has strived to accomplish two main goals. The first is to expose kids looking to start a career in sports to all the positions and paths they could take. Because most want to be among the handful of individuals who become professional athletes, these other careers often get overlooked, but they can be just as rewarding in many cases.
“You can be a [general manager]. You can have strive to be that,” Leno said. “You can be the team president, a Black team president, like we have [with] Jason Wright. You can be a strength coach, you can be a coach, you can be a nutritionist, you can be a financial advisor.”
The second goal is to show people that athletes can be more than people who provide entertainment on gamedays. “Beyond the Entertainer” wants to pay it forward to “make this world a better place,” as the website claims, and there are multiple initiatives, such as a mentorship program and a program for addressing world hunger, that are in the works to help accomplish that.
Leno also supports the Hogfarmers Charitable Foundation, which is dedicating to helping children with pediatric cancer.
The Walter Payton Award is given annually to an NFL player to honor that player’s commitment to philanthropy and community impact, as well as his excellence on the field.
The winner will be announced at NFL Honors in February before Super Bowl LVII.
Congratulations to Leno on this prestigious honor. Leno has quickly made himself a fan favorite among fans because of his tremendous work off the field.
We will share the links for Hogfarmers and Beyond the Entertainer if anyone would like to make a donation to these outstanding organizations.
Here is the full list of nominees.
The Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award presented by @Nationwide honors players making an impact both on-the-field and in their communities. #ItTakesAllOfUs to make a difference.
See all 32 nominees here: https://t.co/D8sTbEfNsc #WPMOY pic.twitter.com/KuvbOEOHvT
— NFL (@NFL) December 6, 2022
