The New England Patriots may not be performing well on the field, but they’re certainly making an impact off of it in their community.
On Thursday, the NFL announced the 32 nominees for the 2024 Walter Payton Man of the Year award, and New England’s nominee is defensive end Deatrich Wise Jr.
According to the NFL’s website, the award “recognizes an NFL player for his excellence on and off the field…Representing the best of the NFL’s commitment to philanthropy and community impact, 32 players are selected as their team’s Man of the Year and become eligible to win the national award.”
Wise’s foundation, “Wise Up” is dedicated to providing educational resources and opportunities, uniting communities, supporting underserved student-athletes and honoring America’s veterans.
The foundation has helped serve hot meals to veterans, hosted an annual block party to uplift Boston’s youth and hosted the Wise Big Man Camp for linemen in high school just part of their events.
The winner of this year’s award will receive a $250,000 donation to the charity of their choice. For being nominated, Wise will receive up to a $55,000 donation to their charity of choice.
This is not the first time that Wise has been recognized for his work in the community, as he also won the Ron Burton Community Service Award in 2022.
