“I’m actually honored to be nominated because the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year. This group and this metropolis imply a lot to me and to have the Chiefs nominate me once more is particular,” Kelce stated. “Growing up in Cleveland Heights with supportive household and mates, I do know the facility of getting folks in your nook. It’s been unimaginable to have the ability to work in direction of offering that very same help and inspiration to youngsters by Eighty-Seven & Running and our work with Operation Breakthrough and the Ignition Lab. To see the inaugural class from the Ignition Lab on the point of graduate is so particular and one thing that I’ll cherish perpetually. I understand how useful hope and function is in these highschool years, and these youngsters have actually seized the chance. Being in a position to give again to the group right here in Kansas City in addition to present like to my hometown shouldn’t be one thing I’ll ever take without any consideration. I’m perpetually grateful to characterize Kansas City, the Hunt household, our followers and my basis, and it is an honor to be nominated.”
All 32 nominees will probably be acknowledged for his or her achievements in the course of the week main as much as Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans. The winner of the 2024 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award will probably be introduced throughout NFL Honors, a primetime awards particular to air nationally on FOX and the NFL Network on Thursday, Feb. 6. Each nominee will obtain as much as $55,000 and the award winner will obtain as much as a $265,000 donation to their charity of alternative. All donations are made potential by the NFL Foundation and Nationwide Foundation.
Since coming into the NFL as a third-round draft decide in 2013, Kelce has been an impactful contributor to the Kansas City group, whereas additionally being a dominant pressure on the sphere and already being hailed as one of many biggest to play the place. Since establishing his basis, Eighty-Seven & Running, in 2015, Kelce has grown his contributions each in scope and monetary contributions. In 2020, Kelce was acknowledged for his diligent efforts to help Kansas City youth together with his first Walter Payton Man of the Year nomination.
With inspiration from his personal optimistic childhood expertise of rising up immersed within the various suburb of Cleveland Heights, Ohio, Kelce noticed the significance of his personal impactful household construction, together with the village of family and friends that supported him all through college. With this understanding on the forefront, Eighty-Seven & Running helps underserved youth attempt to change into productive residents, motivating them to discover their talents and uncover their passions whereas studying vital life abilities and mentorship.
Kelce has continued his dedication to the youth of Kansas City all through his 12-year profession, partnering with Operation Breakthrough, an after-school program diligently working to supply help and extracurricular alternatives to among the most impoverished group members of Kansas City. Through the COVID-19 pandemic, Kelce was an avid supporter of Operation Breakthrough, serving to to maintain their doorways open by a tumultuous financial time and producing hundreds of meals for Operation Breakthrough’s food-insecure inhabitants.
In 2020, Kelce bought an deserted muffler store with the imaginative and prescient of turning the house into the “Ignition Lab” – a protected, after-school program for inner-city college students to achieve real-world, tangible expertise and life abilities and ignite their passions as an extension of Operation Breakthrough. This yr, the inaugural class of the Ignition Lab is ready to graduate highschool, bolstered with work expertise, internships, business abilities and help. Since its inception in 2020, the Ignition Lab has grown the variety of college students served by 350%.
In the 4 years of its existence, Ignition Lab college students have launched three entrepreneurial companies, together with a meals truck, a hydroponic farm and a digital media studio, all offering alternatives for college kids to find their distinctive pursuits and additional develop their abilities. Along with the unparalleled data, these ventures present college students a chance to earn wages from their work to assist help their households. Ignition Lab college students additionally full a required monetary literacy course to assist equip them for fulfillment past their time in this system.
Kelce has been open about his struggles at school, explaining that he usually lacked motivation. From his personal expertise, Kelce has centered on equipping college students with a various set of sensible abilities, together with pc, culinary and digital media abilities, providing Operation Breakthrough college students a myriad of alternatives to actively have interaction of their studying. Beyond the classroom, Kelce has ensured that college students are additionally left with the present of service by having Ignition Lab teenagers full mentoring hours for youthful college students as a part of summer season college instructing groups. There have been over 25,000 hours of peer-to-peer mentoring accomplished.
Since starting his historic profession over 10 years in the past, Kelce has made an affect not solely in Kansas City, together with visits to kids to encourage wholesome life, visiting first responders, offering his time and voice to meals banks and selling the values of youth soccer.
A 3-time Super Bowl champion over his storied 12-year profession in Kansas City, Kelce has shattered almost each tight finish document at a wide ranging tempo. Entering the 2024 marketing campaign, he caught a move in 158 consecutive video games, the longest streak in franchise historical past and nonetheless lively as of immediately. His 11,965 receiving yards are the third most by a good finish in league historical past, trailing solely PFHOF TE Tony Gonzalez and TE Jason Witten. He is simply the second participant in Chiefs historical past to surpass 11,000 complete yards with 11,980 (WR Dante Hall, 12,356). As of immediately, Kelce is tied with Gonzalez for probably the most landing receptions in Chiefs historical past with 76 and has caught 53 of these touchdowns from QB Patrick Mahomes, giving the pair the third-most QB-TE landing connections in NFL historical past and probably the most in Chiefs historical past. In a valiant show of consistency on the sphere, Kelce amassed a minimum of 1,000 receiving yards every season from 2016-22, probably the most consecutive such seasons by a good finish in league historical past. Kelce is not any stranger to huge video games, with 38 100+ receiving yard video games, probably the most by a good finish in NFL historical past. In 22 profession postseason video games, he leads all tight ends with 19 receiving touchdowns, and his 165 postseason receptions are one of the best amongst all NFL move catchers. Kelce has not missed a Pro Bowl nomination since 2015 and has been named AP All-Pro first-team 4 instances and second-team 3 times.
Fans are as soon as once more inspired to take part in Nationwide’s annual Charity Challenge, a social media and on-line contest that permits followers to point out help for his or her favourite Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year nominee. Fans can vote on X/Twitter by posting #WPMOYChallenge together with the final title/X deal with of their chosen nominee or by voting instantly on NFL.com/ManOfTheYear. The nominee who receives probably the most collective hashtag mentions and on-line votes will win an extra $35,000 donation from Nationwide to the charity of their alternative, with the runner- up receiving $10,000 and the third-place winner receiving $5,000. Charity Challenge voting takes place from Thursday, Dec. 5 to Monday, Jan. 6.
Beginning Week 14 and persevering with by the tip of the season, every of this yr’s nominees, together with Kelce, will put on a particular Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year helmet decal in recognition of their accomplishments on and off the sphere.
For extra details about the award, please go to NFL.com/ManOfTheYear.
