J.J. Watt's acceptance speech for NFL Man of the Year

The full transcript of J.J. Watt's acceptance speech for Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award:

"Yesterday I had the chance to – we had a few events for the nominees, and I had a chance to spend a lot of time with both Greg (Olsen) and Benjamin (Watson), the other nominees for this award. And there's one thing that I know, it's that I wouldn't rather share this nomination with two other guys than them. They represent everything that's right about this league, they represent everything that's right about the players in this league and giving back to the community. So please give a round of applause to both Greg and Benjamin.

We also had a chance to spend some time with the Payton family, the beautiful Miss Connie, her daughter, Brittney, and son, Jarrett. I cannot express how humbled and honored that I am to be mentioned in the same sentence as Walter Payton, a man who did everything right, not only on the field, but also off of it, and I'm going to continue to try and live that legacy and make that family proud so thank you all for supporting me.

Speaking of family, I cannot thank my own enough. My mom, Connie, my dad, John, my brother, T.J., my brother, Derek, and my beautiful girlfriend, Kealia (Ohai). Thank you for standing side-by-side with me through everything and always being willing to lend a helping hand. I couldn't have done any of this without you, so thank you. I love you guys.

This award is called the Man of the Year Award, but I promise you it is so much bigger than just one man. This award is about the inherent good that lies within humanity. It is about the City of Houston and its ability to overcome adversity at a time where it all seemed lost. It is about the hundreds of thousands of people from all over the country and all over the world who donated to a city they may never have been to people they may never meet, but they donated simply because they saw their fellow human going through a difficult time and they wanted to help out.

This award is about true heroes, like police officer Norbert Ramon, who's in his 24th year on the job and is going through chemotherapy to battle stage four colon cancer. When the storm hit and there was no way to get to his station, he found a way to get to the only station he could get to. Over the course of the next three days, he and his unit helped rescue over 1,500 hundred people by boat to deliver them to safety. Throughout the storm and its recovery, we have seen thousands of examples like Officer Ramon and I am certain that there are thousands more which we do not see. Every day people stepping up to help out their fellow human when they need it most. Whether it be something as big as rescuing thousands of people by boat or as small as starting a lemonade stand to donate money to the cause, time and time again we are shown how beautiful and generous the human spirit can be and in today's world, more than ever, it is that spirit that we need to see more of.

I started my foundation in college after seeing a story on TV about a safety at Florida State named Myron Rolle. Myron had started his own charitable foundation while still attending school. I never even thought about that as a possibility. I just assumed that you had to be a millionaire to have a charity, I didn't know any better. I never met Myron, I've never spoken to Myron, and I'm sure he doesn't know that he's the reason I started my foundation, but Myron showed me what's possible and he helped to inspire me and because of that and because of my mom and our incredible volunteers at my foundation, there are now thousands of kids getting an opportunity to play sports after school that otherwise may not have. There are now people in Houston who are benefiting from the donations from all over the world from the funds that we raised.

Whether we realize it or not, we are affecting everyone around us with our every move. The more that we can shine a light on the positivity and the good that there is in this world, the better off we're going to be. We all have to go through this crazy journey together, so why not help each other out and make it as great of a journey as possible?

I'm incredibly grateful, I'm incredibly thankful to receive this award, and I will cherish it for the rest of my life. The only thing that I ask of you is to join me in trying to carry on the legacy that Walter Payton left behind of leaving this world better than we found it.

Take a moment. Ask yourself, 'How can I make a difference? No matter how big, no matter how small, how can I make a difference?' And when you have your answer, go out and do it.

Thank you, I appreciate it. Everybody have a wonderful night."