We here at Notinhalloffame.com thought it would be fun to take a look at the major awards in North American team sports and see how it translates into Hall of Fame potential.

Needless to say, different awards in different sports yield hall of fame potential.  In basketball, the team sport with the least number of players on a roster, the dividend for greatness much higher.  In baseball, it is not as much as a great individual season does not have the same impact.

Last time, we looked at the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award of the NBA.  This time we look at its Football counterpart, the Walter Payton Man of the Year.

The Walter Payton Man of the Year Award originated in 1970, and is given to the player honoring a player’s volunteer and charity work.  It was originally named the Man of the Year, and it was renamed in the honor of former winner and Pro Football Hall of Famer, Walter Payton, after he died in 1999.

While this is generally given to star players, we will not dissect the season in question as the award is not meant to be defined by stat lines and on field accomplishments.  

So how many Walter Payton Man of the Year Award winners have made the Pro Football Hall of Fame?

Let’s find out!

The following are the past players who have won the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award who are eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame and have been enshrined.

Johnny Unitas, Baltimore Colts 1970                            

Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1979.

Willie Lanier, Kansas City Chiefs 1972                           

Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1986.

Len Dawson, Kansas City Chiefs 1973                            

Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1987.

George Blanda, Oakland Raiders 1974                            

Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1981.

Franco Harris, Pittsburgh Steelers 1976                        

Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1980.

Walter Payton, Chicago Bears 1977                                

Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1993.

Roger Staubach, Dallas Cowboys 1978                           

Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1985.

Joe Greene, Pittsburgh Steelers 1979                            

Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1987.

Harold Carmichael, Philadelphia Eagles 1980                

Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2020.

Lynn Swann, Pittsburgh Steelers 1980                           

Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2001.

Dwight Stephenson, Miami Dolphins 1985                     

Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1988.

Steve Largent, Seattle Seahawks 1988                           

Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1985.

Warren Moon, Houston Oilers 1989                                

Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2000.

Mike Singletary, Chicago Bears 1990                             

Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1998.

Anthony Munoz, Cincinnati Bengals 1991                     

Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1998.

John Elway, Denver Broncos 1992                                 

Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2004.

Derrick Thomas, Kansas City Chiefs 1993                     

Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2009.

Junior Seau, San Diego Chargers 1994                           

Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2015.

Darrell Green, Washington Redskins 1996                     

Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2008.

Troy Aikman, Dallas Cowboys 1997                               

Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2006.

Dan Marino, Miami Dolphins 1998                                 

Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2005.

Cris Carter, Minnesota Vikings 1999                              

Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2013.

Derrick Brooks, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2000 (co-winner)

Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2014.

Jerome Bettis, Pittsburgh Steelers 2001                        

Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2015.

Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts 2005                      

Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2021.

LaDainian Tomlinson, San Diego Chargers 2007            

Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2017.

Jason Taylor, Miami Dolphins 2008                               

Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2017.

Kurt Warner, Arizona Cardinals 2009                             

Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2017.

The following are the players who have won the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award who are eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame and have not been selected:

John Hadl, San Diego Chargers 1971                             

Eligible Since 1983.  Ranked #103 on Notinhalloffame.com

Ken Anderson, Cincinnati Bengals 1975                        

Eligible Since 1992.  Ranked #10 on Notinhalloffame.com

Joe Theismann, Washington Redskins 1982                  

Eligible Since 1991.  Unranked on Notinhalloffame.com.

Rolf Benirschke, San Diego Chargers 1983                    

Eligible Since 1991.  Unranked on Notinhalloffame.com.

Marty Lyons, New York Jets 1984                                  

Eligible Since 1995.  Unranked on Notinhalloffame.com.

Reggie Williams, Cincinnati Bengals 1986                     

Eligible Since 1995.  Unranked on Notinhalloffame.com.

Dave Duerson, Chicago Bears 1987                                

Eligible Since 1997.  Unranked on Notinhalloffame.com.

Boomer Esiason, Cincinnati Bengals 1995                     

Eligible Since 2003.  Ranked #82 on Notinhalloffame.com

Jim Flanigan, Chicago Bears 2000 (co-winner)               

Eligible Since 2009.  Unranked on Notinhalloffame.com.

Troy Vincent, Philadelphia Eagles 2002                         

Eligible Since 2012.  Ranked #275 on Notinhalloffame.com

Warrick Dunn, Atlanta Falcons 2004                              

Eligible Since 2014.  Unranked on Notinhalloffame.com.

Brian Waters, Kansas City Chiefs 2009                          

Eligible Since 2014.  Ranked #156 on Notinhalloffame.com.

Madieu Williams, Minnesota Vikings 2010                     

Eligible Since 2014.  Unranked on Notinhalloffame.com.

Matt Birk, Baltimore Ravens 2011                                 

Eligible Since 2014.  Ranked #74 on Notinhalloffame.com.

Let’s update our tally, shall we?        

So, who is up next?

The following are the players who have won the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award in the NFL who have retired but have not met the mandatory years out of the game to qualify for the Pro Football Hall of Fame:

Charles Tillman, Chicago Bears 2013

Eligible in 2021.

Anquan Boldin, San Francisco 49ers 2015

Eligible in 2022.

Eli Manning, New York Giants 2016 co-winner

Eligible in 2025.

Chris Long, Philadelphia Eagles 2018

Eligible in 2024.

The following are the players who have won the Walter Payton Man of the Year who are still active.

Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints 2006

41 Years Old,Playing for the New Orleans Saints.

Jason Witten, New Orleans Saints 2013

38 Years Old,Playing for the Las Vegas Raiders.

Thomas Davis, Carolina Panthers 2014

37 Years Old,Playing for the Washington Football Team.

Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona Cardinals 2016 co-winner

37 Years Old,Playing for the Arizona Cardinals.

J.J. Watt, Houston Texans 2017

31 Years Old,Playing for the Houston Texans.

Calais Campbell, Jacksonville Jaguars 2019

34 Years Old,Playing for the Baltimore Ravens.

This is an award based more on character, and will likely continue to yield winners all over the ability spectrum, but let’s be honest; it is a lot easier to be philanthropic when you are a star name!

…and yes we know Peyton is not inducted yet, but come on!

So, what is up next?

We return to the NHL with a similar award to this one, the King Clancy Memorial Award.

As always, we thank you for your support, and look for that soon.

A huge name has been added to the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2021, as David Stern, the former NBA Commissioner will be inducted posthumously.  He died on January 1, 2020 of natural causes.

Stern spearheaded the formation of the WNBA, and without his vision the league likely would not have existed.  He pushed the promotion of the league, by using the NBA’s resources, including their participation in annual NBA All-Star Game.

Earlier this year, the Class of 2020 was changed to the Class of 2021 due to the pandemic.  Stern joins former players Tanika Catchings, Swin Cash, Lauren Jackson, Debbie Brock and contributors Carol Callan, Carol Stiff and Sue Donohoe. 

The ceremony is currently scheduled for June 12, 2021 in Knoxville, Tennessee.

As we approach the training camp of the NFL season, it is an annual occurrence to expect sudden retirements. We have our first significant one, with Michael Bennett, a Defensive End with the New England Patriots.

Bennett went undrafted out of Texas A&M in 2009, but was signed by the Seattle Seahawks, though was released after a brief run on the practice squad.  The Tampa Bay Buccaneers claimed him, where he made the team and as a backup Defensive End.  Bennett became a starter in 2011, and in 2012, he had his best year as a Buccaneer with nine Sacks and 41 Tackles.

After that year, he rejoined Seattle as a Free Agent, where he would have his best run in football.  Bennett helped the Seahawks win Super Bowl XLVIII, and would go to the Pro Bowl three straight seasons (2015-17), with the first of those seasons being a ten-sack year.  

Bennett would play for Philadelphia in 2018, and for Dallas and New England in 2019.

Bennett retires with 69.5 Sacks and 359 Tackles.

In the future, we will be writing a bio for Bennett in the 2025 Football Futures section.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to wish Michael Bennett the best in his post-playing career.

Garden State Greatness in the World of Sports

New Jersey is known for many things including the iconic Atlantic City and its fabulous hotel and casino operations, world-famous sports teams, and NJs mind-boggling population density. From an sports and entertainment perspective, the Garden State stands proud. It is home to New York's finest – not the police officers – the New York Jets and the New York Giants – NFL titans. These teams play for the Empire State, but their stadium is located in East Rutherford New Jersey, at MetLife Stadium. Interestingly enough, according to 888sport’s Brett Chatz, the New York Jets and the New York Giants are the only NFL teams to share a stadium since 1984. Granted, the LA Chargers will be sharing a stadium with the LA Rams from 2020 onwards, at the SoFi stadium in California.

The New Jersey Devils Stun the Crowds at the NHL 

The best New Jersey Devils Teams of all time are pretty easy to identify. They're the ones who won the Stanley Cup, back in 1994/5, 1999/2000, and again in 2002/3. As the quintessential picture of perfection, these New Jersey Devils teams went hell for leather and brought home the ultimate prize in the NHL. Their first Stanley Cup victory took place under the management of coach J. Lemaire. Fast forward to 1999/2000. The New Jersey Devils again performed superbly under coaches L. Robinson and R. Ftorek, winning their second cup. The last time the New Jersey Devils won the Stanley Cup was back in 2002/3. That year, it was coach P. Burns who led the team to victory in a spectacular way. The New Jersey Devils are without doubt one of the best exports to emerge from the state. They are currently ranked at #14 in the Eastern Conference (2019/2020) with plenty of opportunities to move up the ranks in coming seasons.

The New York Giants and the New York Jets Playing Out of Jersey

No sport captivates the attention of fans more than the NFL. The other 3 major sports in the US include MLB, NBA, and NHL, in that order. True to form, New York's NFL prospects – the Giants and the Jets have cemented their place in history among fans. What many folks outside of New York and New Jersey don't know is that both these NFL teams are based in the Garden State. According to NFL power rankings (2019 regular season), the New York Giants in the NFC East are in third place, and the New York Jets in the AFC East are also in third place. Both of these teams have their home base at MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey. The Giants have won 4 NFL Championships, in 1956, 1938, 1934, 1927. They also won 4 Super Bowls, in 2012, 2008, 1991, and 1987. The New York Jets have just 1 NFL Championship to their credit, when they beat the Baltimore Colts 16-7, back in 1969.

The Brooklyn Nets Playing Out of New Jersey

The Brooklyn Nets were once known as the New Jersey Nets, and this NBA team certainly made waves in the basketball arena. The best Brooklyn Nets players include the likes of: Jason Kidd, Julius Erving, Buck Williams, Drazen Petrovic, Brook Lopez, Richard Jefferson, Rick Barry, John Williamson, Keith Van Horn, Kerry Kittles, andKenyon Martin, among others. Some of their best performances ever took place in the following years:

• 1973/4– the Brooklyn Nets delivered a 55-29 win/loss performance in the ABA. Legendary players, Larry Kenon and Julius Erving starred.
• 1975/6- the 1976 Slam Dunk contest with none other than Julius Irving a.k.a. Dr J won the hearts of fans the world over. He was named the ABA Most Valuable Player, and was appointed to the ABA First Team. In that year, the Brooklyn S came in second with a 55-29 record in the ABA.
• 2002/3– during the season, the Brooklyn Nets had the best defensive rating in the league. Richard Jefferson stepped in, replacing Van Horn. Just two games were lost during the play-offs in the Eastern conference, as the Brooklyn Nets made it to the NBA Finals. In 2002, their win percentage was .634, and in 2003 their win percentage was .598.
• 2001/2– in this year, Jason Kidd spearheaded the Nets towards greatness as they reached the NBA finals. While the Lakers dominated, the Nets showed their grit. The Eastern conference team could not possibly hope to compete with the Western Conference team, but their regular-season winnings got them to the finals.

These New Jersey teams have left an indelible impression on the sports world. Many of these teams are etched into the annals of history in the NHL Hall of Fame, the NBA Hall of Fame, and the NFL Hall of Fame. It's been some time since a team from New Jersey lifted a championship trophy, but they've done it before and they can certainly do it again!