Franklin has been a model leader on the field and in the locker room for the Colts. This goes back to his 2022 breakout season, where he would set the Colts’ single-season tackle record (167) amid a brutally bad season where several players had little to no morale left.

Fast-track to 2023, and he’s playing even better, currently on pace to easily surpass his previous tackle record. However, while he’s a force on the field, the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award is for community impact and acts of the heart.

There have been multiple ways that Franklin has impacted his hometown of Philadelphia and his franchise’s city, Indianapolis, but perhaps none more than his foundation honoring his late mother and grandmother, “Shelice’s Angels” (named after his mother). He would lose them both tragically at the age of just 16.

In an interview with Colts.com writer JJ Stankevitz in August of this year, Franklin went into further detail about his inspirations, his foundation, Shelice’s Angels, and what it means to him to be a force of good in the community.

During the interview, Franklin would talk to Stankvitz about how Seattle Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner was a mentor to him and how he learned so much from the former Super Bowl champion defender, but what impressed Franklin more than Wagner’s on-field prowess was the love Wagner has for giving back.

“Yes, he was a great player, yes he was a great leader,” Franklin said of Wagner. “But also he affected every community in which he was in a positive manner. And he left it better how he found it.”

This type of example and impression gives Franklin the fire to keep spreading love through his foundation, “Shelice’s Angels.”‘

While the award of NFL Man of the Year is a wonderful honor, what’s most important is the positivity that Franklin has injected into his community and teammates through being inspired by his mother and grandmother, harnessing the lessons and love that they showed to him growing up in Philadelphia.