Seahawks LB Bobby Wagner On Being Nominated For The Walter Payton Man Of The Year Award 'It Means A Lot'

Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner and head coach Pete Carroll spoke to the media and talked about Wagner’s Walter Payton Man of the Year nomination.

Dec 07, 2023 at 05:09 PM

Ari Horton

Seahawks.com Writer

There are only two Seahawks who have won the Walter Payton Man of the Year award, Russell Wilson and Steve Largent. Along with that, there are only six Seahawks who have been nominated for the award more than once and Wagner is among that number, having been nominated in 2019.

Throughout Wagner's career he's taken initiative to give back to the communities he's been a part of, like surprising high school students on an HBCU tour and helping out with financial literacy, a skill he said he lacked himself when first coming to the league.

"I think a lot of that stuff are things that come to my mind or that come to what it was that maybe I didn't have or things maybe I wasn't exposed to. A lot of the financial literary stuff came as a result that I didn't understand anything about finances until I got into the league. I didn't even know how to write a check until I got into the league. It was kind of like the idea of, if that's me, then I'm pretty sure there's more people like that. A lot of the things that I kind of do is moreso from experience or something that I've been close to that I felt the need to help," Wagner said.

To be nominated once is an honor, but twice is something a few players get to experience, and Wagner says that this award means a lot to him, "especially this one, because I'm assuming a lot of it comes around the comic book, which means a lot to me and a lot to my mom, and I think it's cool."

The comic book Wagner is referring to is the FAST54 stroke awareness comic book that he released earlier this year in partnership with Virginia Mason Franciscan Health in honor of his mother, Phenia Mae.

"Man, I hope she would be proud. I hope it would be a split image of who she is and who she was. That's just me, I'm just an extension of her. Hopefully she would see that and be proud of that," Wagner said.

In Pete Carroll's opinion, Wagner is a great candidate for the award.

"He has done everything that a guy can do for the criteria of this award. He's been everything. He's a fantastic person, he's a terrific family guy. He's got everything going forward for him football-wise. He's done everything that he can do forever, and he's doing it again. It's also recognized. The players know. They know who he is, they know where he's coming from, and he has an impact on them in numerous ways. He's doing everything he can," Carroll said.

Wagner's work in the community not only amazes his coach but has piqued the interest of players in the locker room.

"Even having some teammates seeing that and wanting to be a part of the stuff that we have coming up I think is cool," Wagner said.

While Wagner was simultaneously building up his legacy on the field, like being one of just three players to have 12 consecutive 100-tackle seasons, Wagner was building up his legacy in the community and on what legacy means to him, "I think it's something that you try not to think about, you try to move through your actions. You try to be the best player, the best person that you can possibly be. At the end of the day, you want to walk away knowing that you've made whatever situation you're in, whether it's with your family or with your team, better than when it was before you. If you can give it your all and put everything into whatever you're doing and then walking away and then make whatever that is better."