Bengals nominate DE Carlos Dunlap for Walter Payton Man of the Year award

In case you somehow forgot, Carlos Dunlap is one awesome human being.

For the second time in four seasons, the Bengals have nominated Dunlap for the Walter Payton Man of the Year award, which is awarded to the player that best serves his local community and charitable efforts off the field. The honor is one of the most prestigious a player can receive, and the players are nominated by their own teammates, so it’s no understatement that Dunlap’s valuable work off the field has resonated with his teammates.

For the past two NFL seasons, Dunlap and his foundation have been traveling across the country as the Bengals do so when they play on the road to spread anti-bullying literacy to kids all over America. His latest stop was in Baltimore just before Thanksgiving.

When he’s not helping kids learn about bullying, he’s busy crossing the pond to showcase support to current and veteran service men and women. Dunlap was a part of this year’s NFL USO Tour and visited military bases all over Europe. He became one of the main faces of NFL support for the continual connection between the League and the military.

In addition to all of that, Dunlap also made an imprint with another important issue. This year he hosted his fifth annual spa day for women who have survived and who are battling breast cancer — treating the brave ladies to a free day at the spa for manicures and pedicures along with dinner cooked by Dunlap’s personal chef.

At this point, it’s hard to find issues that Dunlap isn’t making a difference in. His consistent hard work to give back and make his community better makes him the obvious choice for this nomination, as it was made entirely for players and characters like Dunlap. Hopefully his amazing work this season will be noticed enough for him to win the award this time, but his impact has already been felt by countless people regardless if he takes home the hardware.