C.J. Ham is Vikings’ nominee for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award

For the second consecutive year, Vikings fullback C.J. Ham has been voted as the team’s nominee for the NFL’s Walter Payton Man of the Year Award.

Throughout his 10 Vikings seasons, Ham has been one of the most active players in the community volunteering for team events as well as his own charitable efforts through the Ham Scholarship Fund, the Boys & Girls Club, and his family’s annual “Pamper Her Purple” event for cancer survivors and patients to honor his mother, Tina, who passed away in 2020 from pancreatic cancer.

Under coach Kevin O’Connell, the award has been decided by a player vote. Teammates also voted Ham as the pick last year. Ham, 32, joins former teammates Kyle Rudolph and Chad Greenway as the most recent multiyear Vikings nominees.

“Those are guys who really just prided themselves on giving back,” Ham said Thursday, “so just to be mentioned in the same breath as those guys and the amount of people they’ve impacted ... just to be even in that category is pretty cool.”

This annual NFL honor is meant for teams to designate a player who “not only exhibit excellence on the field but have a steadfast commitment and passion to impact lives beyond the game.” All 32 nominees will be recognized at the league’s NFL Honors event before the Super Bowl in February, when the winner will get $250,000 to a charity of his choice. Each nominee gets $40,000 for their charities.

“C.J. and Stephanie Ham continue to set a powerful example both within the Vikings organization and throughout the Minnesota community,” Vikings co-owner Mark Wilf wrote in a statement. “C.J. exemplifies true leadership and consistently motivates his teammates to create meaningful change. We are proud of the positive influence he brings to our community and honored to put his name forward once again for this highly-respected award.”

Ham; his wife, Stephanie; and their three children, Skylar, Stella and Cortez, are frequently involved in the family’s off-field efforts. Skylar, 9, recorded a funny video with the Vikings Entertainment Network announcing Ham’s nomination.

While the Vikings (4-8) look likely to miss the postseason this year, Ham said he’s looking forward to hearing from 31 other community leaders like he did last year.

“I’d never been in the Super Bowl festivities,” Ham said. “Never been to [NFL] Honors. What I thought was really cool is just being apart of those 31 other guys and just getting to hear their stories and what they’re passionate about and the people that they’ve impacted.”