GREEN BAY – Green Bay Packers center Corey Linsley has been named the team nominee for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award, which recognizes a player for his excellence on and off the field and is among the league’s most prestigious awards.
Each of the league’s 32 nominees will receive a donation of $40,000 in his name to a charity of choice.
The winner will receive a $250,000 donation to the charity of his choice.
A native of Youngstown, Ohio, Linsley has continued to invest his time and talents in the community.
Coming to Green Bay in 2014, Linsley has worked with Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Brown County, a volunteer-based nonprofit organization that provides a voice for abused and neglected children who are under the legal protection of the court system.
Linsley and his wife, Anna, serve as CASA advocates, visiting children to whom they are assigned and submitting monthly reports to the judge on the children’s safety and wellbeing.
The Linsley family has helped direct donations to CASA from the Packers and the NFL social justice initiative, totaling $100,000 in the last two years.
They have served as state spokespeople for Wisconsin CASA, attending special events and appearing in advertisements.
The Linsley family raised funds for the family of his “bike kid,” Travis Kohlbeck when the Kohlbeck family faced various health challenges.
Linsley helped host a Play 60 event for students with special needs at Syble Hopp School in De Pere and takes part in numerous Packers Give Back programs and events.
He has also been a participant in the Packers Give Back Celebrity Bowling Event that has helped raise money for Northeast Wisconsin Technical College and CASA, and he often lends a hand to help teammates with their fundraisers.
All 32 team winners will be highlighted as finalists and recognized for their work leading up to Super Bowl LV.
The winner will be announced during NFL Honors, a two-hour awards special to air nationally the week before Super Bowl LV on CBS.
As a nominee, Linsley will wear a Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award helmet decal through the end of the season.
For the sixth year, each nominee will also take part in the charity challenge, a social media challenge that encourages fans to post on Twitter using a unique hashtag for each player.
The player hashtag that generates the most mentions until Jan. 17 will win an additional $25,000 donation to the charity of his choice, with the runner-up receiving $10,000 and the third-place winner receiving $5,000.
Fans can support Linsley by tweeting with the hashtag #WPMOYChallenge + Linsley to help him earn the donation.
More information about the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award can be found by CLICKING HERE.