Vikings veteran fullback C.J. Ham is the team’s nominee for the 2024 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award, the team announced Thursday morning.
The Walter Payton Award is considered the league’s most prestigious honor and recognizes players who show a commitment to impacting their communities beyond the football field.
Thirty-two nominees, one from each franchise, will be recognized during the week of Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans. The 2024 winner will be announced during NFL Honors on Feb. 6 on Fox and NFL Network.
Ham, who is from Duluth, and his wife, Stephanie, have supported a number of regional organizations and causes since Ham signed with the Vikings as an undrafted free agent out of Augustana University in 2016.
“It means the world,” Ham said Thursday. “Growing up in Minnesota, these are the people that are close to home, these are the people who had a lasting impact on my life. If I can go out there and try to make an impact on another Minnesotan’s life, that’s what it’s all about.”
On Dec. 10, the Hams and the Vikings will host the Southside Village Boys and Girls Club at TCO Performance Center in honor of his nomination. Ham spent time as a child at the Boys and Girls Club as his parents worked and has participated in a number of events benefiting locations across the Twin Cities.
Ham started the Ham Scholarship Fund with his wife in 2022. Its goal is to provide financial support to students of color in the Duluth area so they can pursue higher education and improve retention and graduation rates.
C.J. and Stephanie Ham also host the annual “Pamper Her Purple” event for women who have survived cancer or are being treated for cancer. In October, 15 women received a day of pampering and dinner for the fourth annual event.
