The 2005 NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year: Peyton Manning

A Great Player, Manning Also Excels at Helping Others

The 2005 NFL Man of the Year, Indianapolis Colt Quarterback Peyton Manning, in 2004 broke a record that had seemed like it would never be broken, when he threw for 49 touchdown passes during the season, breaking Dan Marino's seeming unreachable record of 48. He has played in eight consecutive Pro Bowls, beginning in 1998 and was the MVP in 2005. Manning was the NFL MVP in 2003 and 2004. His records are many, including: consecutive seasons with more than 4,000 yards passing, six (Dan Marino also had six, but not in a row); consecutive seasons with more than 25 touchdown passes, eight and counting; four games with a perfect passer rating, including one playoff game; being the only player to pass for more than 3,000 yards each of his first eight seasons; and he has started every game he has played in the NFL, 125 the longest current rating for a quarterback. He has also won the last two passing titles.

A player is not chosen Man of the Year for athletic accomplishments only. The NFL is the only professional league that gives an award for both athletic accomplishments and community involvement, and that award is the Walter Payton Man of the Year. The legendary Chicago Bears running back, Walter Payton died in 1999.

Fifteen members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame have been named Man of the Year. In winning the award, Manning joined recent winners Warrick Dunn of the Atlanta Falcons in 2004, Will Shields of the Kansas City Chiefs in 2003, Troy Vincent of the Buffalo Bills in 2002, and Jerome Bettis of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2001.

After Hurricane Katrina in September of last year, Peyton (a native of Louisiana) and younger brother Eli, the quarterback of the New York Giants, obtained a plane and flew 30.000 pounds of relief supplies to Louisiana.

"The ability to work with and help people in the community is one of the more rewarding opportunities we have as NFL players, which is why this is one of the most meaningful honors I have received," Manning said of his award, on the NFL website about its charities, www.jointheteam.com. "Knowing everything that Walter Payton stood for makes the award that much more special."