NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Arik Armstead, whose Armstead Academic Project supports early childhood education, was selected the Walter Payton Man of the Year on Thursday night.

Armstead, who openly discusses how his difficulty reading as a child made him self-conscious, routinely visits schools and reads to children as part of his mission to ensure young students of all socio-economic backgrounds have access to adequate educational resources.

“This is a huge honor,” Armstead said. “It’s a huge sense of responsibility that I feel to carry this forward and continue to serve — and serve more people.”

Armstead thanked his parents for “instilling a serving spirit into me at a young age.”

“Your guidance is the biggest reason why I’m where I’m at in my life right now,” he said. “I hope I make you proud.”

Jaguars' Arik Armstead wins Walter Payton Man of the Year at the NFL Honors event | iNFOnews.ca — Jacksonville Jaguars defensive lineman Arik Armstead talks to media after receiving the Walter Payton Man of the Year award at the NFL Honors award show ahead of the Super Bowl 59 football game, Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Armstead closed with a request to his audience in the Saenger Theater and those watching on television.

“We live in a world that is constantly trying to divide us,” Armstead said. “But I believe in humanity. I believe that we are all more alike than we are different and I believe that all of us have the power to be the change we want to see in our society.

“I just encourage you to try to be a blessing in someone else’s life and see how that changes your life,” he said.