Alex Highsmith named Steelers’ winner of Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award

Alex Highsmith on Thursday was named the Pittsburgh Steelers club winner of the 2025 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award, a coveted off-field league honor intended to recognize players who excel on the field and demonstrate a commitment to creating a positive impact beyond the game.

The sixth-year outside linebacker’s Alex Highsmith Family Foundation strives to empower the next generation through fitness, education and community.

“I truly believe that God has given me this platform to be a blessing to others, especially in the communities that I love,” Highsmith said in a statement released by the team. “Walter Payton is one of the best football players of all time, but his true impact and legacy is felt today through the way he lifted up his community. I’m grateful to be able to make an impact off the field like he did.”

Each NFL team names a Payton Award winner, and those 32 men are nominated for the league-wide honor presented the week of the Super Bowl. Highsmith’s longtime teammate, defensive co-captain Cameron Heyward, won the NFL award in 2023.

“I’m really proud of Alex for earning this nomination and for the work he’s done on the field and in the community through his foundation,” Heyward said in a statement.

Highsmith is in the second season of a four-year contract extension signed in the summer of 2023. He has 41 sacks in 85 career games, including 5 ½ in eight games this season. A native of Wilmington, N.C., Highsmith operates his foundation out of his hometown, Pittsburgh and Charlotte — the latter, where he went to college.

According to the website for Highsmith’s foundation, “The Alex Highsmith Family Foundation is focused on fostering a legacy of faith, family and football and works to improve the lives of people in both Wilmington and Pittsburgh.”

Highsmith’s charitable work this month includes partnering with the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank and the Urban Impact Foundation.