Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce, who was praised for his dealings with local and national media during the previous season, has been selected as the 2023 Good Guy Award winner by the Professional Football Writers of America (PFWA).
Kelce, the 19th Good Guy Award winner, is the third member of the Eagles franchise to win the award, joining Chris Long, who won the Good Guy Award in back-to-back years in 2018 and 2019.
Other finalists for the Good Guy Award were Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham, Las Vegas Raiders running back Josh Jacobs, Cincinnati Bengals center Ted Karras, and Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin.
The Good Guy Award is given to an NFL player for his qualities and professional style in helping pro football writers do their jobs. The award has been presented annually by the PFWA since 2005.
Kelce has been a staple of the Eagles’ offense for 12 seasons and has invested heavily in Philadelphia through his charitable efforts and his rapport with the media. His accountability and honesty while talking to reporters has been as consistent as his play.
“To use Jason Kelce’s words about being an athlete in Philadelphia: ‘This city really appreciates accountability, appreciates people being very honest, real, emotionally invested, caring.’ Football reporters appreciate many of those same qualities. Kelce shows them when he deals with the media,” said PFWA Philadelphia Chapter president Zach Berman of The Athletic. “Kelce is honest, accessible, and authentic. What he says carries weight, and he’s aware of his platform and the value of his words. He likes to say that players write their own narratives, and he’s been professional and accommodating in allowing us to write about his narrative.”
Kelce is a five-time PFWA All-NFL and All-NFC selection (2017-19, 2021-22) and a six-time Pro Bowler. He has started 139 consecutive regular season games, the second-longest active streak in the NFL and the second-longest in Eagles’ franchise history behind Jon Runyan (144; 2000-08).
In 2022, Kelce earned PFWA All-NFL honors after anchoring an offensive line that helped the Eagles advance to Super Bowl LVII while establishing franchise records in points, rushing touchdowns, third down conversions and red zone offense. He produced the second-highest pass blocking grade (82.0) among NFL centers, according to Pro Football Focus, and he did not allow a sack or a QB hit. He also had the second-highest run blocking grade (89.4) among NFL centers by PFF.
ABOUT THE PFWA: In its 60th season in 2023, the Professional Football Writers of America (PFWA) is the official voice of pro football writers, promoting and fighting for access to NFL personnel to best serve the public. The PFWA is made up of accredited writers who cover the NFL and the 32 teams daily. Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News is the PFWA president for the 2023-24 seasons and the organization’s 31st president. Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post is the PFWA’s first vice-president, Michael-Shawn Dugar of The Athletic is the second vice-president, Lindsay Jones of The Ringer is the advisor to the president and Mike Sando of The Athletic is the secretary-treasurer. At-large board members includeMike Jones of The Athletic, ESPN.com’s Jeff Legwold, Joe Reedy of the Associated Press and ProFootballTalk.com’s Charean Williams. Follow the PFWA at ProFootballWriters.org and on Twitter at @PFWAwriters.
GOOD GUY AWARD WINNERS (To a NFL player for his qualities and professional style in helping the pro football writers do their job) Year indicates when award was presented for previous season: 2005 – Jerome Bettis (Pittsburgh Steelers); 2006 – Tiki Barber (New York Giants); 2007 – LaDainian Tomlinson (San Diego Chargers); 2008 – Brett Favre (Green Bay Packers); 2009 – Kurt Warner (Arizona Cardinals); 2010 – Drew Brees (New Orleans Saints); 2011 – Aaron Rodgers (Green Bay Packers); 2012 – Tim Tebow (Denver Broncos); 2013 – Tony Gonzalez (Atlanta Falcons); 2014 – Russell Wilson (Seattle Seahawks); 2015 – Richard Sherman (Seattle Seahawks); 2016 – Thomas Davis (Carolina Panthers); 2017 – Larry Fitzgerald (Arizona Cardinals); 2018 – Chris Long (Philadelphia Eagles); 2019 – Chris Long (Philadelphia Eagles); 2020 – Eli Manning (New York Giants); 2021 – Philip Rivers (Indianapolis Colts); 2022 – Cameron Heyward (Pittsburgh Steelers); 2023 – Jason Kelce (Philadelphia Eagles)
