Sitting in the back yard of his Honolulu home last July, Michael Bennett took a break between a workout and some pool time with his three daughters to discuss his passion for community service.

"You want to be able to transcend sports," Bennett said. "Not just be relevant in your sport, but be relevant in things that matter outside of sports. To be able to talk to kids about life, school, community, health. I want to empower young athletes to use their platform."

Few athletes have used their platforms more effectively than Bennett, which is why he was announced Thursday as Seattle's nominee for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award. For years, Bennett's foundation has worked to fight obesity through OCEAN Programing (fighting Obesity through Community, Education, Activity and Nutrition). Bennett has held free camps and health clinics in Seattle, his hometown of Houston and current offseason home, Honolulu, and this year in South Dakota on the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe.

The NFL's Man of the Year Award, which was renamed to honor the Chicago Bears great in 1999, was established in 1970 to recognized excellence on and off the field. Each team nominated one player who has had a significant positive impact on his community. Arizona receiver Larry Fitzgerald and New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning shared the award last year, while defensive end Cliff Avril was Seattle's 2016 nominee.

"It's an honor," Bennett said. "It's an honor to be able to be chosen with all your peers… I'm honored to get this opportunity to be a nominee for this organization, because there are so many guys who do so much work. It's incredible."

In addition to the work listed above, Bennett also pledge his 2017 endorsement money to, as he wrote on Instagram, "help rebuild minority communities through STEAM programs (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics), as well as initiatives that directly affect women of color in hopes we can create more opportunities for our youth and build a brighter future." His foundation is partnering with the African-led global movement iamtheCODE to get 100 marginalized girls in Africa into STEAMED programs (science, technology, engineering, arts, mathematics, entrepreneurship and design), as well as with multiple local organizations to start a gardening program for youth in juvenile detention. Bennett has been a regular visitor at the King County Youth Detention Facility, helping provide advice, motivation and, as is always the case with Bennett, a bit of levity as well. And this fall, Bennett worked with Safeway to provide Hurricane Harvey relief.