The Walter Payton Man of the Year Award is one of the most prestigious accolades that can be attached to a player’s resume. Denver Broncos offensive tackle Garett Bolles was selected as the team’s nominee for the 2023 NFL season.

Garett Bolles named Broncos WPMOY nominee

The Walter Payton Man of the Year award honors and recognizes players who excel in on-field performance, but more importantly, highlights a player’s commitment to philanthropy and community impact.

Broncos offensive tackle Garett Bolles was selected as the team’s nominee for this year’s Walter Payton Man of the Year Award. Bolles has immersed himself in working with at-risk youth.

He’s worked with and mentored over 100+ youth in Arapahoe County as they navigate the juvenile justice system. During his off-time, Bolles participates in monthly mentorship visits with the Arapahoe County 18th Judicial Youth Probation Court and weekly mentorship visits at the Marvin W. Foote Youth Services Center.

Bolles was notified of his nomination during a recent visit by youth and staff at the Marvin W. Foote Youth Services Center.

“It means the world to me, and the letter means the world to me,” Bolles said after finding out he was nominated. “A lot of people know that I don’t do this just to ‘look at me’. I do this because I genuinely love and care for these kids. I know they say I help them, but they help me and they give me that fight every single day to go out there on the football field and live out my dream of playing football. I’m beyond grateful and beyond honored to be in this situation where I’m at right now.”

Bolles is the latest Broncos player to be nominated for the award. Other former Broncos nominations included Dalton Risner (2022), Justin Simmons (2019-2021), Von Miller (2018), and Chris Harris Jr. (2017) in recent history.

Each team’s Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year nominee will wear a helmet decal through the end of the season in recognition of his accomplishments on and off the field. All current players who have won the national award will wear a Man of the Year patch on their jerseys in perpetuity.

Each nominee will receive up to a $55,000 donation to the charity of his choice while the national winner will receive a $250,000 donation to his chosen cause with all donations made possible by the NFL Foundation and Nationwide.

This year, fans are once again encouraged to participate in Nationwide’s annual Charity Challenge, a social media and online contest that allows fans to show support for their favorite Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year nominee. Fans can vote on X (formerly Twitter) by posting #WPMOYChallenge along with the last name/X handle of their chosen nominee or by voting directly on NFL.com/ManOfTheYear.

The nominee who receives the most collective hashtag mentions and votes will win an additional $35,000 donation from Nationwide to the charity of their choice, with the runner-up receiving $10,000 and the third-place winner receiving $5,000. Charity Challenge voting takes place from Tuesday, Dec. 5, to Monday, Jan. 8.

More information about the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award and Charity Challenge can be found at NFL.com/manoftheyear.