Roman Harper is the New Orleans Saints' nominee for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award, given annually to a player for his charitable and community service efforts.
Each of the 32 teams select one nominee. New Orleans native Eli Manning is the nominee for the New York Giants.
Each of the nominees will have $50,000 donated to the charity of his choice, with the three finalists having each having a total of $125,000 donated and the winner having a total of $500,000 donated.
Matching donations will also be made in their names to an NFL- and United Way-led educational effort called Character Playbook.