New Orleans Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu has been named the club's 2023 Man of the Year, making him the club nominee for the National Football League Walter Payton Man of the Year Award presented by Nationwide. The Walter Payton Man of the Year Award presented by Nationwide is the league's most prestigious honor and acknowledges NFL players who excel on the field and demonstrate a passion for creating a lasting positive impact beyond the game in their communities. This is the second time that Mathieu has been a team nominee, having first been nominated in 2021 as a member of the Kansas City Chiefs.
A graduate of St. Augustine High School and former standout at Louisiana State University, Mathieu has long been involved in supporting important causes in his hometown, actions that have continued since signing with the Saints in 2022. Mathieu established his "Tyrann Mathieu Foundation" to impact the lives of financially disadvantaged children and youth through encouragement, opportunities and resources to achieve their dreams and his and their hometown.
"Tyrann Mathieu represents what it means to be a New Orleans Saint. We are proud to nominate him for this year's Walter Payton Man of the Year Award," said Saints Owner Gayle Benson. "The Walter Payton Man of the Year award honors the top NFL player committed to not only his work on the field, but more importantly, what he does off of it. Tyrann reflects the spirit of this award in the highest way. Being a New Orleans native, he is an outstanding role model and inspiration to our city's youth. Even prior to joining the Saints, Tyrann has been involved in a wide range of community initiatives in New Orleans. Since joining our team, his impact has only grown with the wide range of community initiatives he has been involved in. It is amazing to see all the wonderful work he has done and will continue to do."
"Being the recipient for the New Orleans Saints and getting honored is truly amazing," said Mathieu. "Having an impact in my hometown as well as every community I have played in has been a goal of mine since I was drafted. While the honor is great and I would love to win the whole thing, at the end of the day it's about the work you do within your community to influence people and foster change. I've been very blessed and fortunate to have played the sport professionally for the past 11 years that has been my first love since being a youth. Part of living that dream has been to be a positive influence on my community, especially the youth"
"To have been nominated for this prestigious award a second time is a huge honor, especially now as a member of the Saints, where I have relished the opportunity to make a positive impact in my hometown."
New Orleans Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu has earned the team's nomination for 2023 NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year award for his work in the community.
New Orleans Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu has earned the team's nomination for 2023 NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year award for his work in the community.
New Orleans Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu has earned the team's nomination for 2023 NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year award for his work in the community.
New Orleans Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu has earned the team's nomination for 2023 NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year award for his work in the community.
New Orleans Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu has earned the team's nomination for 2023 NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year award for his work in the community.
New Orleans Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu has earned the team's nomination for 2023 NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year award for his work in the community.
New Orleans Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu has earned the team's nomination for 2023 NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year award for his work in the community.
New Orleans Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu has earned the team's nomination for 2023 NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year award for his work in the community.
New Orleans Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu has earned the team's nomination for 2023 NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year award for his work in the community.
New Orleans Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu has earned the team's nomination for 2023 NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year award for his work in the community.
New Orleans Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu has earned the team's nomination for 2023 NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year award for his work in the community.
New Orleans Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu has earned the team's nomination for 2023 NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year award for his work in the community.
New Orleans Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu has earned the team's nomination for 2023 NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year award for his work in the community.
New Orleans Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu has earned the team's nomination for 2023 NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year award for his work in the community.
New Orleans Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu has earned the team's nomination for 2023 NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year award for his work in the community.
New Orleans Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu has earned the team's nomination for 2023 NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year award for his work in the community.
New Orleans Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu has earned the team's nomination for 2023 NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year award for his work in the community.
New Orleans Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu has earned the team's nomination for 2023 NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year award for his work in the community.
New Orleans Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu has earned the team's nomination for 2023 NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year award for his work in the community.
New Orleans Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu has earned the team's nomination for 2023 NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year award for his work in the community.
New Orleans Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu has earned the team's nomination for 2023 NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year award for his work in the community.
Mathieu has been a perfect fit on the field for the Saints as well as in the New Orleans community since signing with the club as a free agent in 2022. On the field, he's one of only two Saints defenders to open every contest, recording 139 tackles, one sack, six interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown, 14 passes defensed, one fumble and one fumble recovery, leading the team with seven takeaways over the two-season period. In 2023, he has anchored a secondary, recording 48 tackles, three interceptions and six passes defensed. Overall, in his 11th NFL season, Mathieu has posted 745 career tackles, 11 sacks, 32 picks, 96 passes defensed, five forced fumbles and seven fumble recoveries.
The past two years, as a member of the Saints, Mathieu, through his foundation has hosted several important events for local youth each year. For the past six years, the past two at the Ochsner Sports Performance Center, Mathieu has hosted his annual Heard of a Badger Youth Camp, which provides children in the New Orleans Community with a safe and productive environment to develop their football skills.
This past July, he invited over 300 youth from the Boys and Girls Club of Metro Louisiana and Son of a Saint for his fourth annual Back-to-School Jamboree to celebrate the upcoming school year with fun and games and food, while providing them with school supplies. Since 2022, Mathieu has improved his annual Tyrann's Turkeys program with the added benefit of recruiting his Saints teammates to help pass out turkeys and Thanksgiving meals, drive-thru style to local families as a part of his annual holiday giving event. In November, the funds Mathieu donated to the Salvation Army Greater New Orleans provided Thanksgiving turkeys to 350 total families, as well as traditional fixings (stuffing mix, potatoes, fruits & veggies, and more) to assist in a bountiful holiday. The Salvation Army GNO combined with Mathieu's contributions to provide additional Holiday boxes filled with Thanksgiving sides, helping to provide additional Thanksgiving staples to local families.
Serving as an ambassador for Son of a Saint, a leading New Orleans-based nonprofit dedicated to empowering fatherless boys through mentorship and support, on Tuesday, December 12, Mathieu will host his second annual "Tyrann's Christmas Blessing" event at its mid-city facility. Mathieu will treat families to enjoy a catered dinner by a gourmet chef and visit with each family. After dinner, he will surprise each family with $1,000 worth of holiday gifts and necessities pulled from their "wish list" and wrapped by the ladies of Delta Gamma Zeta Chapter at LSU.
In June, Mathieu served as the keynote speaker for the Universities of Louisiana Black Male Summit in New Orleans. Mathieu addressed hundreds of African-American college students and academic employees from Louisiana public institutions, speaking on the people he surrounds himself with, how he views success and his "why" behind being so involved in the community.
Throughout his 11-year NFL career with the Arizona Cardinals, Houston Texans, Kansas City Chiefs and Saints, Mathieu has supported important causes in each of these communities, while playing for these teams.
Mathieu will wear a Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year helmet decal through the end of the season in recognition of his accomplishments on and off the field.
All 32 nominees will be recognized for their achievements during the week leading up to Super Bowl LVII. The 2023 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year will be announced during NFL Honors, a primetime awards special to air nationally on CBS on Thursday, Feb. 8.
Each nominee will receive up to a $55,000 donation, and the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award winner will receive a $250,000 donation to the charity of his choice All donations are made possible by the NFL Foundation and Nationwide.
This year, fans are once again encouraged to participate in Nationwide's annual Charity Challenge, a social media and online contest that allows fans to show support for Mathieu. Fans can vote on X (formerly Twitter) by posting #WPMOYChallenge along with the name/X handle of their chosen nominee or by voting directly on NFL.com/ManOfTheYear. The nominee who receives the most collective hashtag mentions and votes will win an additional $35,000 donation from Nationwide to the charity of their choice, with the runner-up receiving $10,000 and the third-place winner receiving $5,000. Mathieu won first place in the Charity Challenge in 2021. Charity Challenge voting takes place from Dec. 5th to Jan. 8th.
For more information on Mathieu, the other nominees and the award, please visit NFL.com/ManOfTheYear.
New Orleans Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu teamed up with Tabasco to host a cooking demonstration for mentees of the Son of a Saint organization on Tuesday, November 7.
New Orleans Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu teamed up with Tabasco to host a cooking demonstration for mentees of the Son of a Saint organization on Tuesday, November 7.
New Orleans Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu teamed up with Tabasco to host a cooking demonstration for mentees of the Son of a Saint organization on Tuesday, November 7.
New Orleans Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu teamed up with Tabasco to host a cooking demonstration for mentees of the Son of a Saint organization on Tuesday, November 7.
New Orleans Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu teamed up with Tabasco to host a cooking demonstration for mentees of the Son of a Saint organization on Tuesday, November 7.
New Orleans Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu teamed up with Tabasco to host a cooking demonstration for mentees of the Son of a Saint organization on Tuesday, November 7.
New Orleans Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu teamed up with Tabasco to host a cooking demonstration for mentees of the Son of a Saint organization on Tuesday, November 7.
New Orleans Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu teamed up with Tabasco to host a cooking demonstration for mentees of the Son of a Saint organization on Tuesday, November 7.
New Orleans Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu teamed up with Tabasco to host a cooking demonstration for mentees of the Son of a Saint organization on Tuesday, November 7.
New Orleans Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu teamed up with Tabasco to host a cooking demonstration for mentees of the Son of a Saint organization on Tuesday, November 7.
New Orleans Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu teamed up with Tabasco to host a cooking demonstration for mentees of the Son of a Saint organization on Tuesday, November 7.
New Orleans Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu teamed up with Tabasco to host a cooking demonstration for mentees of the Son of a Saint organization on Tuesday, November 7.
New Orleans Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu teamed up with Tabasco to host a cooking demonstration for mentees of the Son of a Saint organization on Tuesday, November 7.
New Orleans Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu teamed up with Tabasco to host a cooking demonstration for mentees of the Son of a Saint organization on Tuesday, November 7.
New Orleans Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu teamed up with Tabasco to host a cooking demonstration for mentees of the Son of a Saint organization on Tuesday, November 7.
New Orleans Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu teamed up with Tabasco to host a cooking demonstration for mentees of the Son of a Saint organization on Tuesday, November 7.
New Orleans Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu teamed up with Tabasco to host a cooking demonstration for mentees of the Son of a Saint organization on Tuesday, November 7.
New Orleans Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu teamed up with Tabasco to host a cooking demonstration for mentees of the Son of a Saint organization on Tuesday, November 7.
New Orleans Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu teamed up with Tabasco to host a cooking demonstration for mentees of the Son of a Saint organization on Tuesday, November 7.
New Orleans Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu teamed up with Tabasco to host a cooking demonstration for mentees of the Son of a Saint organization on Tuesday, November 7.
New Orleans Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu teamed up with Tabasco to host a cooking demonstration for mentees of the Son of a Saint organization on Tuesday, November 7.
New Orleans Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu teamed up with Tabasco to host a cooking demonstration for mentees of the Son of a Saint organization on Tuesday, November 7.
New Orleans Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu teamed up with Tabasco to host a cooking demonstration for mentees of the Son of a Saint organization on Tuesday, November 7.
New Orleans Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu teamed up with Tabasco to host a cooking demonstration for mentees of the Son of a Saint organization on Tuesday, November 7.
New Orleans Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu teamed up with Tabasco to host a cooking demonstration for mentees of the Son of a Saint organization on Tuesday, November 7.
New Orleans Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu teamed up with Tabasco to host a cooking demonstration for mentees of the Son of a Saint organization on Tuesday, November 7.
New Orleans Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu teamed up with Tabasco to host a cooking demonstration for mentees of the Son of a Saint organization on Tuesday, November 7.
New Orleans Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu teamed up with Tabasco to host a cooking demonstration for mentees of the Son of a Saint organization on Tuesday, November 7.
New Orleans Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu teamed up with Tabasco to host a cooking demonstration for mentees of the Son of a Saint organization on Tuesday, November 7.
New Orleans Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu teamed up with Tabasco to host a cooking demonstration for mentees of the Son of a Saint organization on Tuesday, November 7.
New Orleans Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu teamed up with Tabasco to host a cooking demonstration for mentees of the Son of a Saint organization on Tuesday, November 7.
New Orleans Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu teamed up with Tabasco to host a cooking demonstration for mentees of the Son of a Saint organization on Tuesday, November 7.
