The Steelers have named Ben Roethlisberger the Steelers Walter Payton Man of the Year for his contributions on and off the field. Each team awards and nominates one player, and a NFL panel awards one of the finalists with the NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year honor. The winner receives a $25,000 donation to the charity of his choice.

In 2006, Big Ben founded the Ben Roethlisberger foundation. The charitable foundation has since given over $1,000,000 in grants to various police, fire, and EMS organizations.  Ben is also actively involved with Make A Wish and the Boys and Girls Club.

Ryan Clark was Steelers WPMOTY last year, Brett Keisel in 2011, and Troy Polamalu the year before that. The only Steeler to receive the award from the league in the last 20 years is Jerome Bettis.