New York Giants linebacker, Bobby Okereke has been selected as the team’s nominee for the 2025 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award, the league’s top honour for community service and on-field excellence.
Okereke learnt of the recognition during an October fundraising event for his Nigerian American Football Foundation at his New Jersey home, where team officials presented him with a helmet bearing the award’s distinctive bronze silhouette decal.
“When they surprised me with it, it was just extreme appreciation,” Okereke said. “And it was gratitude from my whole family and from myself towards the whole Giants organization for everything they’ve done for me since I’ve been here.”
The Walter Payton award, established in 1970, recognises one player from each team annually, with a single league-wide winner to be announced on February 6 at the NFL Honors event. Each club nominee is eligible for up to a $55,000 donation to charity, while the overall winner receives up to $265,000.
Last season, wide receiver Darius Slayton was the Giants’ nominee, while Jacksonville’s Arik Armstead claimed the league award. Eli Manning remains the only Giants player to have won it since its inception.
“It meant a lot,” Okereke said. “[My family was] pretty emotional just thinking about when I started playing football in high school, back to my Boy Scout days and choir and everything. I just think it was a proud moment for them seeing me grow up and become the young man I’ve become.
“Since I’ve been a player in this league, I’ve always heard it’s one of the most prestigious awards because of the community service aspect. We’ve all heard the quote: ‘To whom much is given, much is expected.’ That’s how I’ve tried to live my life. That’s how my parents raised me. So, to be recognized for this award is a testament to them, a testament to all the hard work and my teammates supporting me, and how the Giants organization has uplifted me since I’ve been here.”
Born to Nigerian immigrants Kingsley and Sandra Okereke, the linebacker credits his upbringing for shaping his values. He said his parents’ dedication to discipline and education guided him from his early days in California to earning a place at Stanford University and eventually the NFL.
In 2024, Okereke travelled to Lagos with teammate Kayvon Thibodeaux for NFL Africa programmes led by former Giants star Osi Umenyiora, helping to run a football talent camp and youth flag football activities across several days. The camp featured 21 prospects from 10 African countries.
He later became general manager of Team Nigeria’s national men’s and women’s flag football teams, part of an effort to create a long-term pipeline of athletes ahead of the sport’s inclusion in the 2028 Olympic Games. To support this work, he recently launched the Nigerian American Football Foundation.
Okereke also intensified his local community efforts this year, committing to visit all 16 Boys and Girls Clubs across New Jersey. A former Eagle Scout, he said youth development remains central to his outreach.
“I was a Boy Scout growing up, so these youth development organizations are very near and dear to my heart,” he said.
NFL nominees begin wearing the Man of the Year helmet decal from Week 14 through the end of the season, a tradition introduced in 2017. Past winners also wear a permanent jersey patch.
“Such a blessing, that’s forever on your jersey,” Giants quarterback Russell Wilson said. “It’s one of my greatest honors… It’s the most prestigious award, in my opinion, in the NFL.”
Wilson praised Okereke’s leadership and influence in the locker room.
“I think the most important part is every time you walk into the stadium and every time you walk into a building or a room or space, do you change their space? I think Bobby Okereke does that in a great way,” he said.
“He’s a tremendous leader and captain, but he’s a great friend, too. He’s a great representative of the New York Giants.”
