GREEN BAY -- Packers QB Aaron Rodgers has been named a finalist for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award, the NFL has announced.
Rodgers is one of three finalists for the only league award that recognizes a player's off-the-field community service as well as his on-the-field performance. Carolina Panthers LB Thomas Davis and San Francisco 49ers WR Anquan Boldin are the other two finalists. Davis was also a finalist last year.
The winner will be announced during the fourth annual NFL Honors show, which will air the night before Super Bowl XLIX.
While Rodgers put together an MVP-worthy season in 2014, with 38 TD passes, only five interceptions and a 112.2 passer rating in the regular season, his community involvement off the field continues to grow.
He has been involved in and/or continues to raise awareness for The Salvation Army, IndependenceFirst and Raise Hope for Congo, among other organizations. Rodgers' work in the state of Wisconsin with the MACC Fund, which raises money for pediatric cancer and blood disorder research, has been well-documented and remains ongoing, as does his longtime participation with the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
One of his latest initiatives, itsaaron.com, was created to help raise awareness for the people and organizations whose impact is being felt but whose stories are not being publicized and circulated as effectively. A recent video on itsaaron.com brought attention to a G9 Childhood Cancer Project campaign created by an 11-year-old girl who lost her twin brother to pediatric cancer.
