Larry Fitzgerald is the Arizona Cardinals man of the year nominee

Arizona Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald has been nominated for Walter Payton Man of the Year Award

Every season, one player from every NFL team is nominated for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award. This award is given to a player for their excellence on and off the field. This year the Arizona Cardinals nominated none other than Larry Fitzgerald.

Fitzgerald is obviously known for his on the field production, but is also very charitable. He started the “Larry Fitzgerald First Down Fund” which was established to help children and their families with positive activities, Crisis and health organizations.

Fitzgerald holds an annual charity softball game which is attended by athletes and celebrities. He is also a large supporter of breast cancer awareness, from which he lost his mother too.

2016 hasn’t been what the Cardinals have hoped it would be, but Larry’s on the field excellence is showing. With four games left, Fitzgerald is tied for first in the NFL with 88 receptions, and has 880 receiving yards and 5 touchdowns. He is the only receiver that has been a reliable option for quarterback Carson Palmer this season.

Three finalists will be announced in January and the winner announced at the NFL awards on February 4th, 2017. The winner will receive $1 Million, with $500,000 going to the charity of that players choice and $500,000 supporting the expansion of the Character Playbook.

Two finalists will receive $125,000 to the charity of their choice and $125,000 to the Character Playbook. Lastly, the remaining 29 team winners will receive $50,000 towards the charity of their choice and $50,000 towards the Character Playbook.

The only other Cardinal to win the award was Kurt Warner in 2009.  Former Cardinals receiver Anquan Boldin was the recipient of the award last season.  Former Cardinals linebacker Sam Acho is the nominee for the Chicago Bears this season.