The Kansas City Chiefs’ Walter Payton Man of the Year candidate, Tyrann Mathieu, celebrates those working on the front lines of the pandemic.
Tyrann Mathieu has been one of the most charitable and community-driven players since coming into the NFL, taking every opportunity he can to give back to the cities he calls home.
From providing turkeys and Thanksgiving meals every November to blessing families with holiday surprises in December, Mathieu’s selflessness has touched the lives of thousands of people across the country.
Mathieu continued his charitable and kind ways this year by taking an opportunity to celebrate and reward a brave warrior on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Kansas City Chiefs defensive star rewarded Brandon Smith, an ICU nurse at Saint Lukes South Hospital, two tickets to Super Bowl LVI.
“I could cry right now if everybody wasn’t watching,” Smith told KMBC 9 of Kansas City, “I am overwhelmed with joy. I’m so proud of our hospital, our system, all the nurses, all the front line workers, that contributed the last two years during COVID.”
Tyrann Mathieu continues to uplift the Kansas City community
Where Mathieu may have entered some choppy water with Chiefs‘ fans early in this season, he has worked extremely hard to repair his image. Due to his abundance of off-field work in the community, the Chiefs organization has nominated Mathieu to be their candidate for the Walter Payton Man of the Year award.
For the last several years Travis Kelce has carried that banner for the franchise thanks to his amazing charity organization Eighty-Seven and Running.
The winner of the Walter Payton Man of the Year award is determined via Twitter, for the player whose name is tweeted the most alongside #WPMOYChallenge. Each nominee gets $40,000 to give to the charity of their choosing, where the winner of the award is given an additional $250,000 for charitable giving as well.