Chris Long is the Rams nomination for Walter Payton Man of the Year award

By Michael Condon | Dec 3, 2015

Every year the NFL accepts nominations for a player from each team to earn the Walter Payton award. This award is given to the most deserving candidate for his excellence on and off the field. This year’s nomination from the St. Louis Rams goes to defensive end Chris Long for his tremendous work on the filed, and here and abroad in various charitable organizations.

More from Rams News

Long has been a constant presence off the field promoting and backing various community efforts and global initiatives to provide a better quality of life for those that cannot attain it themselves. This year, Long was at the forefront of a movement he dubbed the “Waterboys Initiative.”

The movement saw Long recruit fellow players around the league to raise money and awareness of the need for clean drinking water in East Africa. A region devastated by civil unrest and natural barriers that struggles to find potable water sources essential to life. Long spoke about the efforts back in August.

"“The way of life that is accepted is that they are drinking out of an utterly unacceptable dirty borehole that animals are defecating in, and it’s brown.” Long said. “The water is brown and there’s all sorts of green stuff in there, and you’d just never drink it.” (Nick Wagoner, ESPN)"

The efforts of Long and his team have already established clean drinking water wells in the area and have funds in place to complete more in the coming months.

Part of the Walter Payton award requires nominees to also make an impact here at home and Long has done just that.

Sep 20, 2015; Landover, MD, USA; St. Louis Rams defensive end Chris Long (91) stands on the field during warm ups prior to the Rams

Long and fellow defensive end William Hayes helped raise awareness for homeless folks in St. Louis by spending a night on the streets along side them. Long and Hayes have continued to contribute to those less fortunate in the area by volunteering and donating money to the St. Patrick Center. The Center was established to help the homeless with housing, employment and provide health programs.

Long has also been involved with the Holiday Mail for Heroes. Holiday Mail for Heroes is a program that works hand-in-hand with the American Red Cross to provide holiday cards for veterans and active military members stationed in the United States and abroad.

The NFL will donate $5,000 to the charity of each nominee’s choice. Should Long win the award, he will be awarded with an additional $50,000 donation to a charity in his name. The winner will be announced on February 6, 2016, the night before the Super Bowl.