Tyler Lockett Humbled By Walter Payton Man of the Year Nomination

RENTON, WA - Between the lines, few players have been more consistent and reliable than Tyler Lockett has been for the Seahawks since entering the league as a third-round pick out of Kansas State back in 2015.

Upon his arrival, Lockett instantly splashed earning First-Team All-Pro honors as a kick and punt return specialist as a rookie. Over time, he evolved from a special teams standout into one of the NFL's most prolific receiving threats catching passes from Russell Wilson, amassing 296 receptions for 3,957 yards and 32 touchdowns in the past three-plus seasons. Only six other receivers have matched such production during that span.

But while Lockett has finally become a household name as an elite wideout on the field, the Tulsa, Oklahoma native has been equally as impressive off the field volunteering his time and money to help those in need. In recognition of his efforts, the seventh-year veteran was announced as Seattle's 2021 nominee for the prestigious Walter Payton Man of the Year award on Monday and also was nominated as the team's representative for the Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award on Thursday.

"Honestly, just to be nominated as the Walter Payton Man of the Year award, it really means a lot," Lockett told reporters on Thursday. "I’m somebody that doesn’t like to tell people a lot of stuff that I do off the field. It’s kind of weird for me, because when I was nominated, then everybody’s hearing about all the stuff that I do off the field. Sometimes you just get caught up and you don’t want people to know because it makes you feel like you’re doing it for everybody to see. For me, it was just a recognition that I really take to heart and something that I appreciate because I’ve seen other people when I got here."

When he first came to Seattle as a wide-eyed rookie, Lockett was blown away by the remarkable work done by new teammates such as Wilson, Bobby Wagner, and Cliff Avril dedicating their time to a variety of causes and organizations. Inspired by their generosity, he sought to make a long-lasting impact beyond his contributions on the football field as well.

"You see the stuff that people do off the field and the difference they want to make for whatever it is that they believe in. For me, I wanted to be able to do that same thing," Lockett remarked. "There’s a lot of things that I want to be able to do, but I understood that even the work that I want to do off the field is also a marathon, just like the football season. It’s a marathon, it’s never a sprint. I wanted to be able to focus on certain things, so that way when I’m done playing, I can continue to do those same things. That’s not just something that’s started and then it finishes when I’m done."

While continuing to catch moon balls thrown by Wilson on Sundays, Lockett has made a difference in the Pacific Northwest as well as Kansas and Oklahoma in a plethora of ways, including creating multiple initiatives to support young athletes.

Lockett's College Scholarship Program provided north of $30,000 in scholarships for seven students for the 2021-2022 school year. Students awarded scholarships have been admitted to Tennessee State University, Wichita State University, Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College, Oral Roberts University, and Tulsa Community College.

In addition, through his Youth Sports Leadership Initiative, Lockett donated $10,000 dollars to his alma mater Kansas State to help purchase Catapult data tracking technology to enhance the development of their players and donated $25,000 worth of Adidas uniforms to three different organizations in Oklahoma.

Back in his hometown, Lockett established the Light It Up Foundation and donated more than $32,000 in clothing, food, and shoes for the Tulsa Day Center For the Homeless. He also gifted $6,000 to the city's Domestic Violence Intervention Services to help support those impacted by domestic violence.

Passionate about Black history and an advocate for racial equality and social justice, Lockett produced several videos in 2020 encouraging people to use their voice and vote, including reading his poem Reality vs. Perception. This year, he joined forces with Tulsa's Fulton Street Books & Coffee aiming to raise money for Black-owned businesses while providing insight on black history in the community through a series of bookmarks.

As far as his goals for the future, Lockett wants to educate others on the dark history of Tulsa. Specifically, he wants to shed light on the infamous 1921 Tulsa race massacre in the affluent Greenwood District, which became known by many as "Black Wall Street." In a two-day span, an armed white mob destroyed the district, setting back the Black community for generations.

"Obviously, there's more that I want to do in Tulsa, and there's things that I have been doing, but one of the things that I think is really important between shining a light on your city but also shining that light onto the world," Lockett said. "A lot of people don't understand that Tulsa once was what Atlanta looks like now. Everybody sees Atlanta and they see the successful African Americans and all that type of stuff that's going on down there, but very few people know that Tulsa was considered Little Africa—that was a nickname it was given. People moved from Arkansas and all these different places to be able to build this amazing community in Tulsa, Oklahoma, 5-10 minutes from my house. Right there we had the Stradford Hotel. We had so many crazy things to where it was like they were about to name Oklahoma a Black state. That's how crazy it was."

Though he didn't offer many specifics on Thursday, Lockett said he worked with the NFL during the bye week and there will be "a lot of stuff" coming out about Black Wall Street down the road in future initiatives.

Through all of these programs and his volunteer work with organizations such as Boys and Girls Club and the Make A Wish Foundation, Lockett continues to touch the lives of many from different demographics. While he prefers to stay out of the spotlight, nothing brings him greater joy than seeing smiles on the faces of those who have benefited from his kindness and charity and being nominated for the award shows the work he's done has truly made a difference.

"For me, this life is way much more than this life that I’m living right now in Seattle. You go back to Tulsa, and it’s not the same. There’s a whole bunch of stuff that needs to change and there’s a lot of people that’s being able to step up. The things that I do do, being able to see the hearts, being able to see the kids smiling, being able to see people say, ‘Hey man, you’re my favorite player,’ or ‘I love what you do.’ Hearing other people tell my family their stories and the things that happen in the community that I’m not able to hear about, those are the things that keep me going that allow me to continue to do what I’m doing day in and day out.”