Trio of players with Mississippi ties named finalists for Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award

The Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award is once again up for grabs with 32 league-wide finalists being announced for this year’s honor on Thursday.

Of the finalists, three are players with Mississippi connections: former Mississippi State defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons (Tennessee Titans), former Mississippi State punter Logan Cooke (Jacksonville Jaguars), and Brandon native and linebacker Demario Davis (New Orleans Saints).

“The Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award is our league’s most revered honor, celebrating the players for their excellence both on and off the field,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a press release. “These 32 men represent the best of the NFL, and the incredible contributions they make to their teams and communities every day continue to keep Walter’s legacy alive.”

Coincidentally, the honor is named after a Mississippi native: Payton, who hails from Columbia before becoming one of the NFL’s biggest standouts both on and off the field. He played running back for the Chicago Bears from 1975-87, retiring as the league’s all-time leading rusher, and was touted throughout and after his career for a staunch commitment to community service and philanthropy.

Payton and his wife, Connie, started the Walter and Connie Payton Foundation to support underprivileged children through education, healthcare, and other initiatives. He was a major advocate for organ donation awareness and often made donations to various causes, such as ensuring children had Christmas presents to open and creating a theatre program for inner-city Chicago youth.

Heading into Thursday’s announcement, each club was tasked with selecting its own Walter Payton Man of the Year finalist. The charitable beneficiary of each finalist will receive up to $40,000, and the nonprofit chosen by the overall winner will receive up to $250,000. Funds come from the NFL Foundation and the Nationwide Foundation.

The 2025 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award will be announced during NFL Honors on Feb. 5.

Why the Mississippi players were nominated

Outside of their on-field contributions, Jeffrey Simmons, Logan Cooke, and Demario Davis have proven to be leaders in the community both in the cities they play in and in their home states.

Simmons has been at the forefront of multiple charitable endeavors this year, including his “Give Em A Reason” Foundation, which aims to inspire youth and youth empowerment through sport, by way of self-esteem building, and opportunity creation. This past year, he started a Sack for Sports Equity Campaign, an initiative aimed at eliminating the financial and logistical barriers to sports participation for Nashville students experiencing housing instability. Through the initiative, he pledged $980 for every sack he records. He also hosts annual football camps in Mississippi and recently partnered with the Fund Recovery and Research United for its “Tackle Overdose Now” campaign, which places naloxone vending machines in Mississippi and Tennessee. A vending machine dispensing the overdose-reversal medication was unveiled at the Jackson Medical Mall in July.

Officials from Fund Recovery, Mississippi Public Health Institute, REACH Impact Institute, and Padagis were joined by NFL star Jeffery Simmons (left) in unveiling a naloxone vending machine at Jackson Medical Mall on Monday, July 7, 2025. (Photo from Fund Recovery)

Cooke’s current charitable impact ranges from providing clean water to impoverished communities to reading to children at local schools. This year, with the partnership of Zoe Ministries and the Logan Cooke Foundation, two water well projects were completed and serve nearly 2,000 people who no longer have to walk five to six kilometers daily for water. He also introduced the “Punting for Clean Water” initiative, where he’s pledged $1,000 for every one of his punts that land inside the 20-yard line during the 2025-26 season. During Jaguars Community Tuesdays, Cooke is one of the franchise’s most involved participants and reads to students, holds football camps, and more. This season, he’s also invited children and young adults battling cancer to home games, providing them with sideline access and customized jerseys.

Brandon native and New Orleans Saints linebacker Demario Davis breaks down the huddle during a youth camp for New Orleans area kids. (Photo from the NFL)

Like Simmons and Cooke, Davis plays a large role off the field with community engagement through his Devoted Dreamers Foundation, team events, New Orleans area nonprofits, and local schools and youth development groups. Ahead of Super Bowl LIX, he was dubbed a “Community Champion” by the game’s host committee and participated in nearly 30 events while gifting tickets to deserving individuals from local nonprofits. He donates his suite at Saints home games to youth and brings them to the field following the games. This year, he hosted a five-month-long mentoring series through his foundation in which he helped youth with developing athletic abilities, character, mindset, leadership skills, and financial literacy. He also has a leadership program that connects people between the ages of 16 and 24 with professionals in the sports industry and equips them with workforce development tools. Additional highlights include providing scholarships and supporting the Mission First nonprofit in Mississippi.