There are few things more important to a professional athlete than "legacy." We all want to reach greatness; to be remembered long after we're gone.
Touchdowns scored. Championships won. Records broken. There are countless ways to build a case through achievements on the field. And endless debates among fans, media, and voters for our sport's top accolades about whose stats are most worthy of recognition.
But today, as we prepare to honor this year's winner of the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award, let's not forget: Impact off the field matters, too.
How an athlete gives back to their communities, using their God-given talents in a way that transcends this great game -- that's an equally important measure of greatness. In fact, it is the foundation of their legacy that lasts long after their playing experience.
Those who choose to do both, like all of the men nominated as club winners? They're the best of the best.
They're walking in the footsteps of Walter Payton.
Answering life's most persistent and urgent question
Payton, the legendary Bears running back, once said, "We are stronger together than we are alone."
Those eight powerful words still define the man we know as "Sweetness."
Chicago fans remember Payton as one of the best -- maybe the best -- player in club history. His abilities on the field were unmatched. Everybody knew how he was setting club and NFL records. What few people knew at the time: Payton had been anonymously supporting children's charities across the city.
During his time with the Bears, he'd also launch what's now known as the Walter Payton and Connie Payton Foundation. His commitment to others never slowed down, even in the face of insurmountable health problems, spending his final months advocating for patients in need of organ donations.
Payton embodied excellence on and off the field, which is why, after his passing, the NFL renamed its Man of the Year Award after him.
A few weeks back, during Wild Card Weekend, while scrolling on my phone, there was a quote that stopped me in my tracks. "Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness," Martin Luther King Jr. said. "This is the judgment. Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?'"
Walter Payton answered that call.
And generations of players are now following in his footsteps.
Multiplying good
Today we have a fraternity of NFL stars that does phenomenal work across the nation.
As one of only 57 past Walter Payton Man of the Year recipients (representing .1% of the 38,000 players in the NFL since 1970), I'm proud to be associated with this special and unique community of athletes.
Our fraternity also includes nominees -- known as club winners -- from all 32 teams. They deserve recognition, too, for collectively making a huge difference in people's lives.
Look at the good being done: Nominees have provided meals to families devastated by Hurricane Helene. Career experience to inner-city students. Financial literacy to underserved families. In just one year, these men performed enough philanthropy to fill a TV special.
Just as Payton inspired their philanthropy, these players inspire others to give back. Family and friends are crucial to many philanthropic efforts. Fans have gotten involved. In many cases, individuals who received help are now the ones giving it.
It's a multiplication of good -- a generational impact passed down from player to player, volunteer to volunteer, many times over.
Committing to the long-term
Anyone connected to the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award will tell you the same thing: Helping people doesn't stop when you hang up the cleats.
My selection to the Walter Payton Man of the Year Ring of Honor, a newly created recognition by the organization Sport for Impact, was an incredible honor, but humbling at the same time.
Being part of the Walter Payton Man of the Year fraternity means so much to me. Standing alongside fellow inductees Kurt Warner, Marty Lyons, Warrick Dunn, Derrick Brooks and Anquan Boldin -- all men who have been giving back for at least 15 years -- that's going to be a highlight of my career.
My wife Tommi 's life, as well as my own, is dedicated to advocating for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault, and to improving access to elementary education. The Ring of Honor allows us another opportunity to connect with the public on these important issues in a new way, fittingly, in Walter Payton's name.
A call to action
MLK Jr's most persistent and urgent question, What are you doing for others?, is what we should be asking ourselves each day.
That's what life is all about. It is the fabric of our legacy.
Professional football players have a platform to reach millions. You -- the person reading this column -- have a role to play, too. Ask yourself, "What causes do I care about? How can I contribute more of my time and talents? What am I doing for others?"
Not sure where to start? Read the stories of the 2024 Walter Payton Man of the Year Award nominees for ideas. Talk to your neighbors; learn about the issues affecting those around you. Call a family meeting to make volunteerism and charitable activities a priority. Involve your spouse and kids.
Do something. Then do more.
It matters.
Walter Payton was extraordinary on the field and off it. His legacy is still being written with every Man of the Year recipient, every nominee, every volunteer, every donor, and most importantly, every person who has been touched by his fraternity's multiplication of good.
I'll do my part to ensure his impact lives on, and to write my family's own philanthropic legacy in the process.
Will you join me?
Troy Vincent Sr. played 15 seasons in the NFL and is a preeminent humanitarian off the field as evidenced by being the only one in history to have received the NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year Award, NFL Players Association Byron Whizzer White Award, Sporting News #1 Good Guy, NFL Athletes in Action Bart Starr Award and the Jefferson Award, considered the Nobel Prize for extraordinary community service. He is nationally recognized as an advocate in the campaign to end domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse. Vincent currently serves as the executive vice president of football operations for the National Football League.
