NY Jets: Eric Decker earns team Walter Payton award

The NY Jets have officially named wide receiver Eric Decker their Walter Payton Man of the Year due to his extraordinary contributions to his community this season.

Decker continues to be one of the top performers on the Jets and has thrived the moment he arrived. He’s gone above and beyond both on the field as well as in his community. This season, Decker and his wife Jessie continue to make an impact in the lives of military veterans and their service dogs as well as helping them deal with the trauma that sometimes happens when returning home from active duty.

Thanks to the Media Relations Department of the Jets, here is the official transcript of him receiving this honor as well. The Jet Press would like to congratulate both Eric and Jessie for everything they’ve done for our community.

The New York Jets have named wide receiver Eric Decker as the team’s 2015 Walter Payton Man of the Year. Through the Eric and Jessie Decker Foundation (EJDF) and the New York Jets Community Relations Department, Decker has impacted many lives throughout the country. As the Jets’ award winner, Decker will receive a $5,000 donation to EJDF, his 501(c)(3) organization of choice. Decker is eligible to win the national Walter Payton Man of the Year Award and be recognized at a press conference during Super Bowl Week in San Francisco.  The national winner will receive $50,000 to donate to the 501(c)(3) organization of his choice.  Since 1970, the NFL has awarded the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award to recognize a player’s off-the-field community service as well as his playing excellence.

Decker along with his wife Jessie, strive to positively impact the lives of United States military service members and veterans as well as animals through their foundation. EJDF is committed to those who have served our country via Deckers Dogs, which helps fund the rescue, care and training of service dogs for military veterans returning home with physical disabilities and emotional challenges. Deckers Dogs directly supports Freedom Service Dogs of America (FSD), a Colorado-based non-profit organization. FSD helps veterans and their families in their darkest hours while also freeing a shelter dog, allowing it to have a second lease on life supporting a veteran. Service dogs provide a vital support system for wounded warriors with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and pain and mobility issues which can be so debilitating they lead to suicide.

For a typical service dog, the journey from shelter to service costs approximately $25,000 and since 2013, Deckers Dogs is proud to have funded the care and custom training of six service dogs. Four of these dogs are already hard at work serving veterans and families in need: the first Deckers Dog Rommy, graduated in December 2013 and is living with veteran Shon; the second dog, Decker, was matched with veteran Diane in 2014; the third Deckers Dog is Harmony, matched with Paul in December of 2014; EJDF’s fourth dog, Marbles, was matched with John in the spring of 2015 and the fifth dog, Fresca, was rescued from a shelter in New Mexico this fall and has begun her training at the Freedom Service Dogs facility. The sixth dog will be selected and matched with a veteran this spring.

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Decker has also lent his time and energy to other causes close to his heart such as anti-bullying awareness. While in high school, Decker experienced a shooting during class that was a result of bullying. This fall Decker became the ambassador of the Jets Tackle Bullying campaign in conjunction with STOMP Out Bullying, the leading anti-bullying organization in the nation. The campaign aims to raise awareness through a Public Service Announcement featuring Decker as well as the distribution of 1,000 free educator toolkits to tri-state area schools. Decker will visit schools that implement change and improve culture.