Bobby Wagner leading Man of the Year Charity Challenge

SEATTLE — Seahawks middle linebacker Bobby Wagner is leading the NFL’s fifth annual Charity Challenge.

The challenge is a social media campaign designed to support and promote team nominees for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award.

The Seahawks nominated Wagner for the award last week.

The Charity Challenge encourages fans to vote on Twitter by using #WPMOYChallenge followed by their favorite nominee’s last name.

“The player whose unique hashtag is used the most between Dec. 12 and Jan. 12 will receive a $25,000 contribution to their charity of choice, while the second and third place finishers will receive $10,000 and $5,000 donations,” the officials with NFL said. Click here for the official rules.

The current leaderboard is as follows: Bobby Wagner, Nick Sundberg, Richard Sherman, Kyle Van Noy and Kyle Rudolph.

The Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award was established in 1970 and recognizes a player for his excellence on and off the field.

The winner of the award, unveiled the night before the Super Bowl, receives $250,000 donated to the charity of his choice.

The 31 other nominees receive a $50,000 donated in their name to a charity of their choice.

The Seattle Seahawks released the following news release in their nomination of Wagner:

“He has led numerous events to support important causes, including ‘Walk with Wagner’ for stroke awareness in the Seattle community, as well as ‘Bwagz Sees You,’ where he delivered supplies to nine homeless encampment sites throughout the city and purchased nine homes for these sites.

"Each year he hosts numerous holiday shopping events around Thanksgiving and Christmas to support those in need with groceries or Christmas presents.

"Beyond the Seattle community, Wagner has partnered with nonprofit Generosity Feeds and MOD Pizza to pack meals for 10,000 children in his hometown of Ontario, California, and last year hosted a bowling event for 54 youth from the Orlando community while he was in town for the Pro Bowl.

"He has been a frequent speaker to youth and coaching organizations, including the Man Up Conference and Coaching Boys into Men, where he spoke about overcoming adversity and becoming an NFL player.

"Wagner was recently named 2019 NFLPA Week 13 ‘Community MVP’ for quietly packing Thanksgiving meals at a local grocery store and helping deliver them to homeless families in Seattle, while also spontaneously picking up the tab for all the shoppers on site for an hour.”

© 2019 Cox Media Group