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Washington Commanders linebacker Bobby Wagner.
The final award of the NFL Honors every year is the one the league regards the highest — the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award.
Named for the late Chicago Bears running back Walter Payton, who won the award in 1977 and saw it named after him when he died in 1999, it honors the NFL player who makes the biggest impact in their community in any given year.
This year, it went to Washington Commanders linebacker Bobby Wagner, who delivered an emotional speech about his family and his late mother, Phenia Mae, who died of a stroke when he was just 19 years old.
Wagner’s Phenia Mae Fund has focused on educating people about the signs of a stroke and providing financial support for families who need it when one of them suffers a stroke and comes home to recover. In recent years, it’s expanded to include helping out HBCUs as well.
“I didn’t think I was going to come tonight,” Wagner said. “I almost didn’t come, to be honest, but I’m glad I did … my mom was the person who had confidence in me when I didn’t have confidence in myself … everything I do is for her. I honor her every chance I get.”
Wagner One of NFL’s Greatest LBs of All Time
Wagner is an 11-time NFL All-Pro, 10-time Pro Bowler and has over 100 tackles in each of his 14 NFL seasons, including at least 130 tackles each of the last 10 seasons.
With 162 tackles in 2025, Wagner became just the third player in NFL history to cross 2,000 career tackles and 15th to cross 1,000 career solo tackles.
Former Commanders linebacker London Fletcher (2,039) and Pro Football Hall of Famer Ray Lewis (2,059) are the other 2 players with 2,000 career tackles.
“Bobby Wagner told reporters he has ‘not thought about anything beyond today’ when asked about his playing future,” The Athletic’s Nicki Jhabvala wrote on X.
Wagner played this season on a 1-year, $9 million contract. Spotrac projects his value in the open market around a 1-year, $7.7 million deal.
NFL Career Tackles Record in Sight for Wagner
Wagner needs just 60 tackles to break Lewis’ career record — something he could very well do by the midseason point in 2026, although he’s yet to sign a contract with the Commanders and could opt to try and play for a contender in what could be his final NFL season.
Whenever Wagner does decide to end his career, the 2012 second round pick (No. 47 overall) out of Utah State will almost certainly find his forever football home in Canton, Ohio, in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
According to Pro Football Reference’s Pro Football Hall of Fame Monitor, the average score for inside linebackers in the Pro Football Hall of Fame is exactly 106.0, with only 9 inside linebackers in NFL history sitting above that threshold.
Out of those 9 players, 7 of them are already in the Hall of Fame and Wagner is the only active player on the list. Wagner’s current HOFm score of 114.10 headed into 2026 has him at No. 7 all time.
The one inside linebacker ahead of Wagner on the HOFm list, Luke Kuechly, was announced as one of the members of the 2026 Pro Football Hall of Fame on Thursday night.
Tony Adame covers the NFL for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Washington Commanders, Dallas Cowboys, Baltimore Ravens, Philadelphia Eagles and Denver Broncos. A veteran sports writer and editor since 2004, his work has been featured at Stadium Talk, Yardbarker, NW Florida Daily News and Pensacola News Journal. More about Tony Adame
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