If transitioning to becoming a Second-team All-Pro from playing rugby in Australia was not an achievement big enough, Philadelphia Eagles‘ Jordan Mailata received more magnificent news on Wednesday. We are all aware of Mailata’s physical presence on the field, but this time the 6-foot-8 offensive tackle was recognized for his impact off it.

The Eagles announced Mailata as their 2025 Walter Payton Man of the Year to celebrate his community service and efforts to make a positive impact beyond the game. Mailata was delighted, to say the least, upon receiving the league’s most prestigious honors.

“It’s quite the honor, indeed,” Mailata said on Good Morning America. “I’m super proud and super humbled to be the Man of the Year nominee this year for the Philadelphia Eagles. I get to represent the city, this team, and also my family. So pretty stoked, pretty happy, and I can’t wait to do it.”

Mailata will now join the Cleveland Browns’ Grant Delpit, the Kansas City Chiefs’ Travis Kelce, and the Las Vegas Raiders’ Maxx Crosby, among others, in the list of the 2025 Walter Payton Man of the Year national nominees.

Behind the jersey and the helmet, Jordan Mailata is also a gifted singer. The OT, who signed a $66M contract last year, has recorded three holiday albums that raised over $10 million for local charities. Furthermore, he collaborated with Lane Johnson and Jason Kelce to launch Operation Snowball. The project aims to give a gift to every student in the Philadelphia public school system. They will use the money from their third album to provide the gifts.

Mailata’s efforts were not only recognized by the Eagles but also by the fans online. They expressed their admiration for the Eagles’ star for his service to the community.

Fans react to Jordan Mailata’s nomination

Chris Long was the last Eagles player to win the prestigious award in 2018. Now, with Mailata’s inclusion in the list of nominees, the fans shared their reactions. One fan commented, “GO JORDAN!!!” expressing their excitement to see him as a nominee for the award.

Another fan was stoked with Mailata’s inclusion, “Yass @jordanmailata! Let’s go!” After being named the Eagles’ nominee, Mailata also received $40,000 to gift to his charity of choice, Philly Music Fest. More fans joined the conversation in the comments section, congratulating Mailata with green and white heart emojis, “Congratulations Jordan Mailata.”

With plenty of other players nominated, one fan predicted that it would be either Mailata or Chubb: “It’s @astronaut or @jordanmailata.”

The NFL will announce the winner on February 5. However, there are no winners or losers when it comes to the Walter Payton Man of the Year award. All the players worked extremely hard to give back to the community. In fact, the national winner will receive $250,000 to give to their selected nonprofit.

On the field, the Eagles will face the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday. Mailata’s team aims to break out of a two-game losing streak, while the Chargers enter this game following a win against the Raiders. A win here will give them a 76 percent chance to make the playoffs.