Chris Long Named 2018 Walter Payton Man of the Year

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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.


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.

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.

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