Steelers DT Cameron Heyward was named the 2023 Walter Payton Man of the Year. It is one of the top honors in the NFL, and is given to recognize the player’s commitment to philanthropy and community impact, as well as their play of the field. It was Heyward’s sixth time nominated for the award, and he finally takes home the honor. Current teammates, former teammates, and others around the NFL have been congratulating him on Twitter.
Heyward wins the honor and receives a $250,000 donation to the charity of his choice. In his case, that is The Heyward House, founded in honor of his late father, Craig “Ironhead” Heyward.
Heyward gave a moving speech, thanking everybody in his community for their contributions for his career. He showed plenty of love to many in the Steelers organization as he accepted the award. Here’s the video, via the Steelers’ twitter account.
Chris Wormley played alongside Heyward for three years in Pittsburgh. He said via Twitter, “Pittsburgh and the world is [a] better place because of you brotha.”
T.J. Watt, who was also in the running for an award tonight showed his support.
Tyson Alualu is a close friend of Heyward’s and posted on his instagram story and wrote, “So proud of you bro. More than deserving for what you do day in day out.” Heyward was a large part of convincing Alualu to return to Pittsburgh for the 2021 season after nearly leaving for Jacksonville.
Former Steelers QB Bruce Gradkowski congratuled Heyward on Twitter.
Head coach Mike Tomlin has been with Heyward since he was a rookie 13 years ago. It’s not often a coach-player tandem get to enjoy that long of a span together. Tomlin rarely posts on his Twitter account, but he made sure to show his support for Heyward and congratulate him.
“I am so proud of the man you are. What you do on the field is your job. What you do off the field represents the person you are,” Tomlin wrote.
Heyward’s younger brother and teammate Connor Heyward said, “no one more deserving” The two have been together in Pittsburgh since Connor was drafted in 2022.
Former Steelers DE Brett Keisel was a teammate of Heyward’s and would have been one of the guys he looked to when he was first breaking into the league. He congratulated Heyward on Twitter.
