Eagles
Chris Long Named 2018 Walter Payton Man of the Year
Penn State Great Valley MBA, Penn State Berks Undergrad, Eagle Scout and Vigil Honor, IT Service Manager. I joined Sports Talk Philly in 2017 and root for all the Philly teams (as well as their minor league counter parts).
All posts by Paul BowmanPublished02 Feb 2019
By Paul Bowman, Sports Talk Philly Editor 
The Eagles had their third player to win the Walter Peyton Man of the Year award hear his name called on Saturday night.
Following in the footsteps of Harold Carmichael in 1980 and Troy Vincent in 2002, Chris Long was named the 2018 NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year at the annual NFL Honors show.
While there will be a lot of talk this offseason about whether Long with return to the Eagles or choose to retire and if he will restructure his deal should he return, the veteran is one of the most active players in giving back not just to his local communities, but to communities around the world.
Long captured headlines for donating his entire 2017 base salary of $1 million to charity. He also climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro for the third time last offseason to raise further funding. Should he decide to play next season, he will wear a Walter Payton Man of the Year patch on his jersey.
Long receives $250,000 donated to United Way in his name and up to $250,000 donated to a charity of his choice.
He is currently in the process of getting former Eagles defensive tackle Beau Allen to climb the mountain this offseason.
Click the link, learn more and considering donating so we can guilt trip Beau Allen into climbing a giant mountain for a great cause. @WaterboysORG @Beau_Allen https://t.co/UTyBgooII7
— Chris Long (@JOEL9ONE) January 29, 2019
Long has also been working on his literacy campaign in the offseason with Beau Allen, Fletcher Cox, former Eagles linebacker Connor Barwin and Rams left tackle Andrew Whitworth.
Its First Quarter for Literacy Week! Thanks to donations from @fcoxx_91 @ConnorBarwin98 @awhitworth77 & @beau_allen we have distributed 27,600 books this week w/ @FirstBook to kids in Mississippi, NY, LA & Tampa. Excited to be champions for literacy. #FQLWeek #FQLWChampion
— Chris Long (@JOEL9ONE) February 1, 2019
His foundation, the Chris Long Foundation, focuses on four areas: getting access to clean water for all, helping to address homelessness, aiding the military and providing education and resources to youth in need. Further information on the foundation can be found on their website here.
Former Philadelphia Eagles tight end Trey Burton (Chicago Bears) and Penn State kicker Robbie Gould (San Francisco 49ers) were two of his 31 fellow nominees. All other 31 nominees receive a $50,000 donation in their name and up to $50,000 donated to their charity of choice.
