The Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award is an annual award presented to a NFL (National Football League) player for his positive impact on his community and his philanthropy. The award also considers the player’s performance on the field. Cameron Heyward was the recipient of this award this past year (2024), after being nominated six times for it. This shows how impactful this football player has been on his community and how he has performed on the field.
Cameron Heyward is a defensive captain for the Pittsburgh Steelers national football league team and plays as a defensive tackle wearing the number 97. He is also a husband and father of three. He was born in 1989 in Pittsburgh PA and attended college at Ohio State. He started playing for the Steelers in 2011 and has been with them for 13 NFL seasons. Heyward has a total of 80.5 sacks in his NFL career and he is not done yet as he has recently signed a three-year $45 million contract extension with the Steelers.
The Cameron Heyward Foundation, also called The Heyward House, is a foundation that works with charities to help those in need, especially in the Pittsburgh area. Some of these include Craig’s Closet and Suiting up for Success, which provides free dress clothes for boys in the Pittsburgh area for interviews, internships and helps give hard working seniors a tailored suit to use in their life.
The foundation also helps to feed children with Cam’s Sacking Childhood Hunger Program which provides backpacks of food for students in need. An issue close to Cameron Heyward’s heart is cancer. This is because it was the cause of his father’s death. Heyward now help supports many causes for cancer patients such as Pittsburgh is Stronger Than Cancer, Cam’s Cleats for a Cause (partnering with My Cause my Cleats), and The Southern Brain Tumor Foundation’s Voices of Hope Scholarship. He also has many other causes which support teachers and students.
As you can see, a man so dedicated on and off the field, helping so many in need and working hard and successfully at his sport, is worthy of such an award. You can find more about The Cameron Heyward Foundation at, The Cameron Heyward Foundation – Home.
Sources:
The Cameron Heyward Foundation – Home
Cameron Heyward – Wikipedia
