Miami Dolphins outside linebacker Bradley Chubb was named the team’s winner and league nominee for the prestigious Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award on Thursday.
The award honors players who excel both on the field and “demonstrate a commitment to making a positive impact beyond the game,” according to a press release.
All 32 NFL club winners will be recognized for their achievements during the week leading up to the coming Super Bowl LX in the San Francisco Bay Area. The national winner will be announced during NFL Honors, the league’s award ceremony, which airs on Feb. 5.
“Bradley Chubb embodies everything that Walter Payton and this award stand for — greatness on and off the field and leaving a legacy far greater than oneself,” said Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel in a statement released by the team.
“Bradley is a talented player and an exemplary teammate, but most importantly he is a selfless leader. He understands the weight of his platform, and no matter if he is lifting up young players around him in the locker room or young people he interacts with in the community, he is focused on making those around him better. That takes a special person, someone who leads with humility and service, and it is why he is so deserving of this award.”
Chubb, alongside brother Brandon, established the Chubb Foundation in 2017 with a mission to “activate human potential through pillars of youth mentorship, financial literacy, entrepreneurship and physical education.”
His foundation’s efforts have stretched throughout Georgia, North Carolina and Florida, all states he has called home throughout his journey. Chubb is an Atlanta native who played college football at North Carolina State and has been with the Dolphins since being traded to Miami in 2022 after being the No. 5 pick of the 2018 draft by the Denver Broncos.
The Chubb Foundation is said to have supported more than 5,100 youths and their families.
Chubb has also established partnerships with Boys & Girls Clubs and youth organizations in all the regions where he serves.
“Every time I walk into a Boys & Girls Club or talk to a group of kids, I see myself at their age — full of potential. That’s what this work is about—impacting young people to activate their potential,” Chubb said in a statement released by the Dolphins. “The Chubb Foundation is more than programs or events. It’s about people, purpose, and planting seeds of belief that will grow for generations.”
On the field, Chubb is having a comeback season after missing 2024 recovering from a knee injury late in 2023.
Chubb, who has started all 12 games for Miami entering Sunday’s matchup with the New York Jets, leads the Dolphins with six sacks, has forced a fumble and recovered one.
Twice a Pro Bowl selection, Chubb has 45 ½ sacks in his career, spanning 36 games with the Dolphins and 49 with the Broncos.
One of Chubb’s other initiatives off the field is called “Moving the Needle,” in which he works with children to improve their financial literacy.
He also hosts annual free youth football camps in South Florida, Atlanta and Raleigh, as well as visits children’s hospitals, schools and community organizations.
Chubb is a captain with the Dolphins for the first time in 2025, as he was in his final season in Denver (2022), when he was traded to Miami at the trade deadline. Internally with the Dolphins, he also won the team’s 2023 Nat Moore Community Service Award.
Dolphins fullback Alec Ingold was the team’s Walter Payton Man of the Year representative each of the previous two seasons in 2024 and 2023 before Chubb received the honor for the first time.