00:00And to see what that award means today, it's not just about being a football player.
00:05It's about being a community man.
00:08You know, the hardest thing for football players to do when they leave the game is leave the game.
00:14Football can't be the one thing that identifies with you and who you are.
00:19It's a part of you.
00:20The Walter Payton Award, Bobby Wagner won it from the Washington Commanders.
00:25Started his career, obviously, you know, with the Seattle Seahawks.
00:30Went on to win a Super Bowl with the Rams.
00:32And here he is.
00:33He told the story of his mother.
00:35He told the story of impact in a community.
00:39These are the people and the stories we should be covering more.
00:44Not the quick clickbait stories that we see.
00:48When you're the Walter Payton Man of the Year,
00:50You are a man that represents the entire community of pro football players.
00:57There's only been 26,000 men that have ever played professional football.
01:03There's only 16,000 of us alive.
01:07That's it.
01:08There's 16,000 men that have played in this game for over 100 years.
01:13And this award is not just about going out, tackling, catching, throwing.
01:19This is about going into communities and making impact in people's lives.
01:26Our league needs to do a better job.
01:29Our NFL Players Association needs to tell these stories more.
01:33The work done's of the world who go out and build homes for single parent mothers
01:38that were raising kids that would go on and have to do and raise their family
01:44with nobody else in the house.
01:46This is what the Walter Payton Man of the Year means to me.
01:50It's the most prestigious award that we give out.
01:53The MVP, the Defensive Player of the Year, those are all fabulous awards.
01:57The Walter Payton Man of the Year, that's exactly what it means.
02:02The Man of the Year.
02:05Hall of Fame doesn't really take into account character.
02:10This is the only award in professional sports that has character to it.
02:17Think about it.
02:18The Walter Payton Man of the Year is the only award that character supersedes playing.
02:26There's no other award in American sports.
02:31None.
02:32The Walter Payton Man of the Year, Bobby Wagner.
02:34Congratulations to you.
02:37You represent us all, and I say how proud we are of what he has made
02:42and the impact he's made in communities.
02:45Tell you, folks, that's not just an award.
02:48It is what it says.
02:50The Man of the Year, Bobby Wagner.
02:52Congratulations.
02:53Congratulations.
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