UNC Football alumni in NFL: Julius Peppers nominated for Man of the Year

Julius Peppers was the Panthers’ nominee for the Walter Payton Man of the Year award

Former University of North Carolina standout Julius Peppers finds himself in the stretch run of his 17th season in the NFL and at the age of 38, he’s still playing at a high level.

Peppers decided to return for another season back in March, signing a one-year deal to stay in Carolina, the team that drafted him No. 2 overall in the 2002 NFL Draft out of North Carolina. He had previous stints with the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers but will now close out his career with the Panthers.

Earlier this week, Peppers received some recognition for his contributions off the field.

The Panthers announced that Peppers would be the team’s representative for the Walter Payton Man of the Year award. The award is given out to an NFL player annually and recognizes performance on and off the field.

Each team nominates one player who think has a positive impact in the community and one player is named the Walter Payton Man of the Year at the annual NFL Awards Show the night before the Super Bowl.

Panthers’ tight end Greg Olsen was the team’s representative for the past two seasons with Thomas Davis winning the award in 2014.

After the winner is announced, the NFL will award $500,000 in the name of the winner with $250,000 to expand the Character Playbook and $250,000 to a charity of the player’s choice.

Just days after Hurricane Florence hit the Carolinas, Peppers raised $530,000 for the Julius Peppers Hurricane Relief Fund, including $100,000 of his own money. It was a way for Peppers to give back to the state of North Carolina. Peppers traveled on his off day to help victims in Robeson County, making sure he was putting as much of an effort as he could.

The winner of the award will be announced the Saturday before the Super Bowl.

For more on former UNC Football players in the NFL, please check back with Keeping It Heel.