Kyle Rudolph wins the NFL’s Man of the Year Charity Challenge
By Adam Patrick
The Minnesota Vikings tight end is being recognized for his incredible work off of the field and he will now receive $25,000 to go towards the charity of his choice.
Since he was selected in the second round of the 2011 NFL Draft, Kyle Rudolph has been a consistent contributor on the offensive side of the ball for the Minnesota Vikings.
As much as he has done for the Vikings on the field during his career, Rudolph’s work off the field also deserves to be recognized. Especially with everything that he has done for one of the local Minnesota Children’s Hospitals.
On Sunday, Rudolph received a big thank you from the NFL as the league announced that he is this season’s recipient of the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Charity Challenge. With the honor, the Vikings tight end will receive $25,000 to donate to his charity associated with the University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital.
Vikings fans actually played a big part in Rudolph earning this year’s challenge as the tight end received more mentions on social media featuring #WPMOYChallenge than any other player in the NFL. Rudolph received more mentions than guys around the league like Dak Prescott, Von Miller, Marshawn Lynch, Chris Long, Mark Ingram, and Gerald McCoy.
Last March, the Vikings tight end and the University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital opened up Kyle Rudolph’s End Zone. It’s an area that was added to the hospital to help patients and their families have a little fun and get their mind off of whatever treatment they are undergoing.
The winner of the actual Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award has not yet been announced. Rudolph and 31 other nominees will find out who will receive the award at the 2019 NFL Honors ceremony on Saturday, February 2.
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If the Minnesota tight end ends up earning the honor, he will become the first Vikings player to receive the award since Madieu Williams in 2010. Williams and Cris Carter (in 1999) are the only former Minnesota players to be given the honor since it was first awarded in 1970.