Dak Prescott Wins Walter Payton Man of the Year Award | 2023 NFL Honors

>> 35 YEARS AGO LAST MONTH, THE GREAT WALTER PAYTON RETIRED FROM PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL. OF ALL THE INCREDIBLE RECORDS HE SET DURING THIS 13 YEAR CAREER, THERE’S ONE THAT SPEAKS TO HIS CHARACTER. WALTER PLAYED IN 170 CONSECUTIVE GAMES, WHICH IS STILL THE BENCHMARK FOR RUNNING BACKS TO THIS DAY. NO MATTER THE GAME OR THE CONDITIONS, WHENEVER HIS TEAMMATES LOOKED IN THE BACKFIELD, WALTER WAS THERE FOR THEM. >>’S UNIQUE DETERMINATION AND SUPPORT EXTENDED FAR BEYOND THE FIELD, AS WELL. IT DIDN’T MATTER IF YOU CALLED HIM WALTER, OR SWEETNESS, OR DAD, OUR FATHER NEVER HESITATED TO BE THERE

FOR OTHERS. >> HE SET ANOTHER BENCHMARK, ONE WHERE NFL PLAYERS ARE OUT THERE TACKLING MAJOR ISSUES IN THE COMMUNITY. IT IS WHY THE LEAGUE’S HIGHEST HONOR IS CALLED THE WALTER PAYTON NFL MAN OF THE YEAR. >> AT THE END OF EVERY SEASON, EACH TEAM PUTS FORTH A CANDIDATE FOR THE PRESTIGIOUS AWARD. AND WHILE YOU WILL PROBABLY NEVER SEE AN OFFENSIVE LINEMAN LIKE ME WHEN THE MVP, MAN OF THE YEAR RECIPIENTS COME FROM JUST ABOUT EVERY POSITION ON THE FIELD, AND IT IS FOR ANY PLAYER WHO, LIKE WALTER, WAS ALWAYS THERE FOR OTHERS. HERE NOW IS

A LOOK AT THE 32 NOMINEES FOR THIS YEAR’S WALTER PAYTON NFL MAN OF THE YEAR AWARD. >> IT’S HARD TO GET ANYWHERE IN THE

WORLD TODAY WITHOUT A TEAM, A CIRCLE OF SUPPORT, A COMMUNITY OF PLAYERS ACROSS THE LEAGUE. HELPING THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD IS A YEAR-ROUND LABOR OF LOVE. >> IT’S NOT ALWAYS ABOUT FOOTBALL, JUST BEING ABLE TO SHED LIGHT ON WHAT IT’S LIKE TO PUT OTHER PEOPLE FIRST. >> WHO WE ARE OFF THE FIELD AND WHAT WE DO WITH OUR PLATFORMS. >> HELP SO MANY PEOPLE. >> YOU NEVER KNOW HOW BIG OF AN IMPACT YOU

MAKE. >> NOT ONLY GOING OUT THERE AND VOLUNTEERING, BEEN PART OF THE COMMUNITY, BUT BRINGING PEOPLE TOGETHER. >> IMPACTING PEOPLE’S LIVES. >> A CHANCE TO LIFT UP THOSE WHO COULD USE A HAND, A HUG, OR THAT MOST PRECIOUS GIFT — HOPE. >> CERTAIN PEOPLE ARE BUILT FOR MOMENTS LIKE THIS. >> NOBODY CAN TELL YOU WHAT YOU CAN AND CANNOT DO. >> ONE, TWO, THREE. >> NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE. YOU’VE GOT TO DREAM IT, GO FOR IT. >> THESE 32 MEN CHAMPION THE SPIRIT THAT IS BOTH POWERFUL AND CONFIDENT, AN UNSTOPPABLE DRIVE TO GIVE OF THEMSELVES, TO

LEND A HAND, AND THE ESSENTIAL MEMBERS OF EVERY COMMUNITY THEY CALL HOME. >> YOU BRIGHTENED UP A DARK TIME IN OUR LIFE. >> WANTING TO BE JUST LIKE YOU. >> SHOWING PEOPLE ALL THE WAY. >> WE ARE NOT MAGICAL BUT WE ARE TO HELP. >> GIVE BACK TO OUR COMMUNITIES AND CONTINUE TO GIVE BACK. >> THE TIME IS NOW. PEOPLE NEED US TO SEE HOW MANY LIVES WE CAN CHANGE. >> LATER ON TONIGHT, WE WILL ANNOUNCE THE NEWEST RECIPIENT OF THE NFL’S HIGHEST HONOR. BUT FIRST, PLEASE JOIN US IN THANKING THESE EXTRAORDINARY MEN FOR EVERYTHING

THEY DO. THEY ARE THE NOMINEES FOR THE 2022 WALTER PAYTON NFL MAN OF THE YEAR AWARD! [ CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ] >>> NATIONWIDE, PROUD SPONSOR OF THE WALTER PAYTON NFL MAN OF THE YEAR AWARD, NATIONWIDE IS ON YOUR SIDE. PLEASE WELCOME THE 2019 WALTER PAYTON NFL MAN OF THE YEAR, KELLY S CAMPBELL. >> WHAT A NIGHT, WHAT A NIGHT. THIS EVENING WE SAW 32 MEN WHO ARE FOLLOWING IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF WALTER PAYTON’S BIGHEARTED FOOTSTEPS. ONE INVESTED A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF HIS TIME AND RESOURCES TOWARDS MEDICAL RESEARCH AND IMPROVING THE MENTAL HEALTH OF AT RISK

YOUTH, AND HAS BEEN FROM THE MOMENT HE ENTERED THE LEAGUE. HIS EFFORTS ARE INSPIRED BY NOT ONE BUT TWO VERY PERSONAL AND LIFE ALTERING EVENTS, AND NOW AN EVER-GROWING NUMBER OF PEOPLE ARE TURNING HARDSHIPS INTO INNER STRENGTH THANKS TO THE COMMITMENT OF DAK PRESCOTT. >> GETTING USED TO THE HEAT, BUT WE HAD A GREAT PRACTICE. >> WHY ARE YOU THE WAY YOU ARE? >> THIS IS GERRY JONES AND YOU’RE A DALLAS COWBOY. >> FOR DAK PRESCOTT THE STORY BEGINS AS A BIRACIAL CHILD GROWING UP IN A TRAILER PARKED AMONG THE PINES EAST OF SHREVEPORT, THE

YOUNGEST OF PEGGY PRESCOTT’S THREE FOOTBALL CRAZED BOYS. >> THERE’S POVERTY AND A SENSE. FOR ME TO SAY IT WAS A STRUGGLE , I WOULD BE DISCREDITING MY MOM AND MY BROTHERS. I THINK IF YOU ASKED ANY OF US, DID WE EVER NEED, NEVER, NEVER. THAT’S HOW SELFLESS AND THAT’S THE PERSON MY MOM WAS. >> MISSISSIPPI STATE WOULD COME CALLING AND LOOKED LIKE A VERY PROMISING CHAPTER. BUT THEN, TWO WORDS — MOTHER CANCER. BY HER WISHES, DAK SOLDIERED ON. EARLY IN HIS SOPHOMORE SEASON, HE WAS THE STARTER. TWO MONTHS LATER, SHE WAS GONE. >> DAK PRESCOTT

THE TOUCHDOWN. >> HEADED TO THE NFL DRAFT. >> GOING TO BE A LOT OF HARD WORK JUST CONTINUING TO GET BETTER IN EVERY ASPECT. >> SHE KNEW ADVERSITY COULD ALLOW HER SON TO LEAD TO GREATNESS. SHE SAID ALLOW ME TO BE YOUR INSPIRATION, LET ME BE YOUR STORY. >> I REMEMBER HER TELLING ME, ALL GREATS HAVE A STORY. NOW IT’S UP TO ME FOR HER TO LIVE THROUGH ME. >> A CALL TO ARMS BECAME A FOUNDATION WITH A FOCUS ON CANCER RESEARCH AND FUNDING PATIENT WELFARE. >> MY NONPROFIT IS ENABLING FAMILIES INDIVIDUALS AND COMMUNITIES TO

CREATE STRENGTH THROUGH ADVERSITY. >> CAME INTO OUR LIVES AND HELPED. I’M GOING TO START CRYING. >> LIVES WERE SAVED. STORIES REWRITTEN. BUT SOMETIMES TRAGEDY BEGETS TRAGEDY. IN 2020, DAK’S BROTHER, JACE, THE ROCK AT PEGGY’S SIDE FOR HER PAINFUL DESCENT, TOOK HIS OWN LIFE. >> YOU CAN’T EVEN PUT INTO WORDS THE HURT. IT’S SOMETHING ONLY JASON KNEW, AND HE DIDN’T KNOW HOW TO SHARE IT, HE DIDN’T KNOW HOW TO BE VULNERABLE ABOUT IT. >> A DIFFICULT TRUTH WAS LAID BARE FOR DAK. LAST YEAR HE SHARED HIS PAIN, TELLING ALL WHO WOULD LISTEN THAT BEING VULNERABLE IS

OKAY. >> OUR ADVERSITY, OUR STRUGGLES, WHAT WE GO THROUGH IS ALWAYS GOING TO BE TOO MUCH FOR OURSELVES, AND MAYBE TOO MUCH FOR EVEN ONE OR TWO PEOPLE, BUT NEVER TOO MUCH FOR A COMMUNITY OR PEOPLE IN A FAMILY THAT YOU LOVE. >> I MADE A PROMISE THAT HIS LIFE WOULD BE ONE TAKEN TO SAVE MILLIONS. STARTING IN JULY THERE WILL BE A NEW THREE DIGIT NUMBER FOR THE NATIONAL SUICIDE PREVENTION LIFELINE. OUR CURRICULUM ENCOURAGES ADULTS TO REACH OUT TO YOUNG PEOPLE STRUGGLING WITH THEIR MENTAL HEALTH. >> ONE MAN HELPING MANY TURN DIFFICULT PAGES AND

ADD CHAPTERS TO THEIR LIVES, TO JOIN THOSE WHO CARRY UNBELIEVABLE BURDENS. LET ME BE YOUR STORY. >> NOT HOLDING THOSE FEELINGS IN, I THINK IT’S HUGE. I THINK IT’S HUGE TO TALK, IT’S HUGE TO GET HELP AND IT SAVES LIVES. >> I’M JUST SHOWING PEOPLE HOW TO EXPRESS THEIR ADVERSITY TO RELY AND BECOME THEIR STRENGTH. I KNOW MY MOM, IT’S WHAT SHE WOULD WANT. >> I AM HONORED TO WELCOME DAK PRESCOTT TO THIS ELITE FRATERNITY. >> THANK YOU. THANK YOU. WOW. IT’S VERY HUMBLING TO STAND HERE ON THIS STAGE, AND SUCH AN HONOR TO BE

HERE TONIGHT IN THE ESTEEMED COMPANY OF THE OTHER 31 NOMINATED MEN. I JUST WANT TO SAY I THINK THE WORLD OF YOU THAT YOU HAVE SO MUCH RESPECT FOR ME. CONGRATULATIONS ON THE NOMINATION AND FOR YEARS TO COME. FIRST OFF THANK YOU TO COMMISSIONER GOODELL, TO NATIONWIDE FOR RECOGNIZING THE IMPORTANCE OF THE IMPACT THAT WE AS NFL PLAYERS CAN HAVE OFF THE FIELD. TO THE PAYTON FAMILY, I HAVE SUCH APPRECIATION FOR WALTER AND FOR YOUR BEAUTIFUL FAMILY THAT CONTINUES THE LEGACY THROUGH YOUR CHARITABLE WORK, THAT WALTERS INCREDIBLE LEGACY ON THE FIELD WAS MATCHED BUT YET

PROBABLY EXCEEDED BY HIS HUMANITARIAN WORK OFF THE FIELD. THAT’S SOMETHING THAT I’VE ALWAYS SAID, AND I HOPE THAT WHEN I FINISH THIS GAME THEY COULD SAY HE WAS A OF A PLAYER BUT HE WAS A MUCH BETTER PERSON. THANK YOU TO THE WALTER PAYTON FAMILY. AS A DALLAS COWBOY, I AM HONORED TO JOIN THE PRIOR RECIPIENTS OF THIS AWARD , SUCH A PRESTIGIOUS AWARD, WHICH IS ROGER STARBUCK, TROY AIKMAN, AND JASON WITTEN. THESE ARE MEN WHO I LOOK UP TO AND HAVE LEARNED SO MUCH FROM. BEING RECOGNIZED ALONGSIDE OF THEM, I WILL NEVER TAKE FOR

GRANTED, AND IT’S SOMETHING THAT I’LL TAKE PRIDE IN FOREVER. I’M SO GRATEFUL FOR THE DALLAS COWBOYS ORGANIZATION, THE ENTIRE JONES FAMILY, EMILY CREWS ROBBINS AND THE COMMUNITY RELATIONS TEAM. THEY SO GENEROUSLY INSPIRE AND HELP US CHANGE AND GIVE HOPE TO OUR COMMUNITIES, AND ENCOURAGE ALL OF US WHO WEAR THIS JERSEY TO DO THE SAME. TO MY FELLOW TEAMMATES WHO WORK SO HARD ALONGSIDE OF ME, THANK YOU FOR THE SUPPORT OF MY FOUNDATION AND FOR ALL THE CHARITABLE WORK YOU DO. YOU MAKE ME BETTER ON AND OFF THE FIELD. I WANT TO THANK MY FAMILY AND

MY FRIENDS FOR YOUR CONSTANT LOVE AND SUPPORT. MY POPS, I APPRECIATE YOU. YOU SHOWING UP AND CARING SO DEEPLY FOR EVERYTHING THAT THIS FOUNDATION IS DOING MEANS THE WORLD TO ME. TAD, MY BIG BROTHER, YOU’RE ALWAYS SO SUPPORTIVE. YOU FIGHT FOR THIS FAMILY TO THE END. I LOVE AND APPRECIATE YOU MORE THAN YOU’LL EVER KNOW. MY FOUNDATION WORK MEANS THE WORLD TO ME, SO I HAVE TO THANK THE PEOPLE THAT I DO IT WITH, WHO HELP ME START THIS FOUNDATION. I WANT TO THANK THOSE, PETER, LITTLE PETER, JEANNIE, JULIE, TODD, SHANNON, THE WORK THAT YOU

DO AND THE WORK THAT YOU PUT IN THIS FOUNDATION DOES NOT GO UNNOTICED. I COULDN’T DO IT WITHOUT YOU. SO BLESSED TO HAVE YOU. THANK YOU. NOW MOSTLY, I WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE PERSON WHO HAS HAD THE BIGGEST INFLUENCE ON MY LIFE, MY MOTHER, PEGGY. MY MOTHER WAS AND STILL IS MY MORAL COMPASS. AND THROUGH MY OWN CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTIONS I SEEK TO SHARE HER STRENGTH AND COURAGE WITH THE WORLD. IT WAS ONE OF A KIND. MY MOTHER TOLD ME, AS YOU SAW IN THE VIDEO, MY MOTHER TOLD ME WHEN SHE WAS DIAGNOSED WITH CANCER THAT

ALL GREATS HAVE A STORY, ALLOW ME TO BE YOUR STORY. SHE IS MY WIFE, AND WITH THESE WORDS, JUST AS SHE DOESN’T ALWAYS DID, MY MOTHER INSPIRED ME AND MOTIVATED ME TO BE GREAT BEYOND THE CIRCUMSTANCES, AND IT IS HER HONOR THAT I STARTED MY FOUNDATION IN 2017 AND NAMED IT THE FAITH, FIGHT, FINISH, THE THREE WORDS SHE LEFT ME AND MY BROTHERS. THE WORK ALSO HONORS MY BROTHER JACE, WHO PASSED FROM SUICIDE DURING COVID IN 2020. I MADE A PROMISE THAT WOULD BE ONE LIFE TAKEN TO SAVE MILLIONS. THEREFORE, I AM VERY, VERY THANKFUL

THAT THIS AMAZING — FOR THIS AMAZING PLATFORM THAT ALLOWS ME TO DO JUST THAT, SHARE THE STORY OF MY MOM AND MY BROTHER, AND HOPEFULLY INSPIRE SO MANY OTHERS. IN THE VIDEO THAT YOU SAW, IT ALLOWS ME TO ASSIST AND CONNECT WITH 70 PEOPLE, AND I’M SO THANK YOU TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT. IT’S SOMETHING I WILL NEVER TAKE LIGHTLY AND I’LL NEVER TAKE IT FOR GRANTED. I GAINED STRENGTH, I GAINED MOTIVATION FROM SEEING SO MANY OF OUR BENEFICIARIES WHO ARE LEADING THE DEFINING MOMENTS IN THEIR LIVES WITH GRACE AND COURAGE. I STRIVED TO

CREATE EMPATHY EVERY DAY AND I LEARNED SO MUCH FROM THOSE I GIVE, INCLUDING HOW MUCH MORE THERE IS TO BE DONE. I’M GRATEFUL EVERY DAY FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO CONTINUE TO CHASE THE LEGACY OF WALTER PAYTON AND THE FORMER MAN OF THE YEAR WINNERS. I DRAW SO MUCH INSPIRATION FROM EACH OF YOU WHO REPRESENT THE IMMENSE POTENTIAL THAT WE HAVE AS NFL PLAYERS TO MAKE AN IMPACT ON THIS COMMUNITY AND THE WORLD. OUR WORK WILL NEVER BE DONE, AND IT WILL NOT BE EASY, BUT THROUGH ADVERSITY WE FIND OUR STRENGTH, AND I KNOW THAT WE

WILL CARRY ON OUR WORTHY PURSUIT, NOT BEING DISCOURAGED BY HOW FAR WE HAVE TO GO, RATHER EMBOLDENED BY THE HOPE THAT WE CAN LEAVE THIS WORLD A BETTER PLACE THAN WE FOUND IT. LOOKING AROUND THIS ROOM TONIGHT GIVES ME GREAT HOPE FOR THE FUTURE, AND I THANK ALL OF YOU FOR MAKING A DIFFERENCE, WHETHER YOU’RE HERE TONIGHT OR WATCHING FROM HOME, OR EVEN IF YOU’RE ALREADY A LEADER WHO HAS MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE IN YOUR COMMUNITY. I WANT TO REMIND YOU THAT WE ARE ALL BLESSED WITH THE OBLIGATION TO MAKE AN IMPACT ON OUR COMMUNITIES AND

TO LOVE OUR NEIGHBORS. SO IF EACH OF US CAN FIND A WAY, EVERY DAY, BIG OR SMALL, TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE FOR SOMEONE, THAT LOVE WILL SPREAD EXPONENTIALLY AND THAT IS HOW WE MAKE THIS A BETTER PLACE, THIS WORLD A BETTER PLACE THAN WE FOUND IT. I’M SO, SO, SO HONORED, SO HONORED TO RECEIVE THIS AWARD. THANK YOU ALL, AND GOD BLESS. LOVE YOU, MOM. >> CONGRATULATIONS, THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR HANGING WITH US