Walter Payton Man of the Year 2016: Award Winners, Voting Results and Reaction

Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald and New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning tied for the NFL's 2016 Walter Payton Man of the Year Award, beating out Carolina Panthers tight end Greg Olsen for the honor. 

Joe Person of the Charlotte Observer reported Fitzgerald and Manning were named co-winners. 

Unlike other individual awards handed out during the NFL Honors event on the night before the Super Bowl, the Walter Payton Man of the Year starts with a list of 32 nominees, one from each team, and is later brought down to three finalists. 

The award was renamed after the legendary Chicago Bears running back in 1999 following his death at the age of 45 and honors a player's efforts off the field with volunteer and charity work as much as it does what they do on the field. 

On the field, Fitzgerald continues to defy all expectations for a 33-year-old wide receiver. He led the NFL with 107 receptions and broke the 1,000-yard barrier for the eighth time in his career. 

Off the field, Fitzgerald does charity work through his First Down Fund organization that specializes in providing various gifts to organizations and people in need. 

"Larry and The Larry Fitzgerald First Down Fund give significant gifts—in time, money and resources—to numerous organizations across the country," per the foundation's official website. "The Larry Fitzgerald First Down Fund was established by Larry Fitzgerald Jr. to help kids and their families by funding positive activities for kids during the summer and throughout the year, supporting kids and families in crisis, and supporting health-related organizations that work with families."  

Fitzgerald is no stranger to being honored for his work away from the gridiron. He won the Humanitarian Award from Pro Football Weekly in 2012 for, among other things, traveling to Uganda with former President Bill Clinton to fit citizens in need with hearing aids, per the Pittsburgh Panthers' official website.

In a year that started with the Cardinals having high expectations, especially coming off an appearance in the NFC Championship Game, virtually nothing went right for the team on its way to a disappointing 7-8-1 record. 

Manning has long been regarded for his numerous charitable efforts off the field. He was named one of New York Observer's top 20 philanthropists under 40 in April 2015, with his efforts in his hometown of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 being recognized. 

"I talked to [my brother] Peyton a bunch about what was the best thing to do in a timely fashion and the Red Cross, who we'd worked with before, told us to get supplies down to Baton Rouge," Manning told the Observer. "So we filled up a big airplane with all the things the Red Cross suggested … [I] wanted to do as much as possible to bring back the city where we grew up.”

In addition to that work, Manning has done work with children's charities and helped to establish construction of the Eli Manning Children's Clinics at the Batson Children's Hospital at the University of Mississippi, where he played college football from 2000 to 2003. 

Through all the injuries and frustration, Fitzgerald remains one of the stable rocks in Arizona. He's a legend on the field and continues to enhance his legacy off the field with the prestigious Walter Payton Man of the Year Award on his mantle. 

The Giants were a great success story on the field in 2016, going 11-5 and making the playoffs for the first time since 2011. Manning had a solid season on the gridiron with over 4,000 passing yards, but his work off the field was just as important as anything he did on it.