Walter Payton Man of the Year 2018-19: Award Winner, Candidates and Reaction

Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Chris Long won the 2018 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award during the NFL Honors ceremony in Atlanta on Saturday:

Per the NFL, the award "recognizes an NFL player for outstanding community service activities off the field, as well as excellence on the field."

NFL.com offered a rundown of Long's immense accomplishments in many communities. 

He established the Chris Long Foundation, whose mission "is to engage and create programs focused around four main philanthropic causes: clean water, military appreciation, homelessness and youth."

Long also donated his entire $1 million base salary in 2017 to education initiatives in St. Louis, Boston and Philadelphia, having played in each city or metro area during his pro career.

He's also part of the Players Coalition Task Force, a group whose three "key pillars" are police and community relations, criminal justice reform, and education and economic advancement.

Long also began the "First Quarter for Literacy" program, which "provides under-served Philadelphia families, and families nationwide, with free books, literacy resources and mentoring services." Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer posted a recent update on the program's success:

Long donated his first four 2018 game checks toward the initiative. He's also helped raise funds to build clean water wells in East Africa through Waterboys, whose goal is to bring "life-sustaining drinking water to communities in need."

Reuben Frank of NBC Sports Philadelphia posted a statement from Long made on Saturday after he won the award:

An outpouring of effusive praise occurred on Twitter after Long won. Melissa Stark of NFL Network offered her congratulations:

Scott Van Pelt of ESPN offered his sentiments as well:

A few teammates posted after the announcement, with guard Brandon Brooks and wideout Nelson Agholor providing congrats:

Patricia Traina of InsideFootball.com and Forbes summed it up best, however:

In past years, the NFL has announced three finalists chosen from a field of 32 players (one per team). This year, however, the league recognized all 32 players as finalists.

The league also released in December that it will donate $500,000 in the winner's name. Half of that money will go toward Character Playbook, which is the NFL and United Way's digital character education program. The other half will be donated to a charity of the player's choice.

The league will also donate $50,000 in the other 31 finalists' name to Character Playbook in addition to $50,000 more each to charities of their choosing.

The NFL Man of the Year award has been given since 1970, with Baltimore Colts quarterback Johnny Unitas first receiving the honor. The award was renamed after Chicago Bears running back Walter Payton after his passing in 1999. The Hall of Famer won the NFL Man of the Year in 1977, his third season in the league.