PFWA announces nominees for annual Bill Nunn Memorial Award

Each year, members of the Pro Football Writers of America select a reporter who has
made a “long and distinguished contribution to pro football” as its winner of the Bill Nunn
Jr. Memorial Award.

Five writers were nominated for the award in 2023; each is a member of the Hall of
Fame’s Selection Committee responsible for choosing the players, coaches and
contributors for enshrinement in August.

They are: Mary Kay Cabot, D. Orlando Ledbetter, Gary Myers, Jim Trotter and
Barry Wilner.

Voting concluded May 1. The winner of the Nunn Award — and the other awards the
PFWA presents each year and outlined below — will be announced later this month.

This year’s Nunn Award will be presented during Enshrinement Week in August in Canton, Ohio. All Nunn Award
winners are commemorated on a plaque inside the museum.

Cabot has covered the Cleveland Browns for nearly four decades for the Cleveland
Plain Dealer and Cleveland.com. Her career has encompassed Bill Belichick's coaching
tenure, Art Modell's move to Baltimore and the franchise's 1999 rebirth and too many
quarterback changes to count. She was voted 2015 Ohio Sportswriter of the Year by the
National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association and has been an analyst for NFL
Network and Cleveland television and radio.

Ledbetter has covered the Atlanta Falcons for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution since
2006. He has covered the Michael Vick dog-fighting case, Bobby Petrino’s less than
one-season tenure and the Falcons Super Bowl appearance in 2016. Ledbetter also
helped cover the Bengals for the Cincinnati Enquirer and Packers for the Milwaukee
Journal and Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He is a past winner of Georgia Sportswriter of
the Year by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association. He also is a past
president of the Professional Football Writers of America.

Myers has covered the NFL since 1978. He began covering the League for the
Associated Press' New Jersey bureau from 1978-80 and spent one year as the Giants’
beat writer at the New York Daily News before he headed to the Dallas Morning
News to cover the Cowboys in 1981, eventually becoming the newspaper’s columnist.
He was the Daily News' NFL columnist from 1989-2018. A prior contributor to The
Athletic who also has done extensive TV work, including as the inside info reporter for
HBO's “Inside the NFL” from 1989-2001, Myers is a bestselling author of the books "The
Catch," "My First Coach," "Brady vs. Manning" and "How 'Bout Them Cowboys."

Trotter has covered the NFL for nearly three decades — for eight seasons at the San
Diego Union-Tribune as the lead beat writer for the San Diego Chargers and an
additional four as a national NFL columnist. He covered the league for Sports
Illustrated from 2007-2014, ESPN 2014-18 and NFL Media from April 2018 to March
2023. He wrote two books on Hall of Fame linebacker Junior Seau, and he co-authored
a book with Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald. Trotter also is a past
president of the Pro Football Writers of America.

Wilner covered the NFL for the Associated Press from 1985 until his retirement in July
2022. He helped lead and organize the national and local coverage while also covering
the league’s news and events on a national scale. He also regularly broke stories for the
AP during that time, using his numerous connections he made in league circles. Wilner
first covered the New York Jets as the AP’s beat writer from 1985-2004. He added
national duties in 1988, also covering NFL-wide news and events, while also staying on
top of the Jets beat. Wilner switched to covering the NFL as a whole in 2005, and he
eventually took over as the AP’s point man for all things NFL when the late Dave
Goldberg retired in 2009, and he served in that role until his retirement. He staffed 36
Super Bowls for AP and oversaw the AP postseason awards voting.

Other off-field awards the PFWA membership votes on include:

• George Halas Award to the NFL player, coach or staff member who overcomes the
most adversity to succeed. Nominees are Saquon Barkley, New York Giants;
Damar Hamlin, Buffalo Bills; Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco 49ers/Carolina
Panthers; Brian Robinson Jr., Washington Commanders; and Geno Smith, Seattle
Seahawks.

• Good Guy Award to the NFL player whose qualities and professional style help pro
football writers do their jobs. Nominees are Brandon Graham, Philadelphia Eagles;
Josh Jacobs, Las Vegas Raiders; Ted Karras, Cincinnati Bengals; Jason Kelce,
Philadelphia Eagles; and Terry McLaurin, Washington Commanders.

• Horrigan Award to the League or Club official whose qualities and professional
style help pro football writers do their job. Nominees are GM John Lynch, San
Francisco 49ers; VP, Communications Brian McCarthy, NFL; Coach Ron Rivera,
Washington Commanders; GM Les Snead, Los Angeles Rams; and EVP, Football
Operations Troy Vincent, NFL.

• Pete Rozelle Award to the Club public relations staff that consistently strives for
excellence in its dealings and relationships with the media. Nominees are PR teams
from the Dallas Cowboys, Detroit Lions, Miami Dolphins, Minnesota Vikings
and Pittsburgh Steelers.

• Paul “Dr. Z” Zimmerman Award for lifetime achievement as an assistant coach in
the NFL. (Two to be awarded in 2023.) Nominees are Tom Catlin, Don "Wink"
Martindale, Bobb McKittrick, John Mitchell and Floyd Peters.

• Terez A. Paylor Emerging Writer Award to the NFL writer under age 30 who
carries on the legacy of Paylor through his or her work ethic, professionalism and
dedication to the craft and commitment to improving diversity in NFL media.
Nominees are Ben Arthur, AFC South reporter, Fox Sports; Emmanuel Morgan,
NFL reporter, New York Times; Daniel Oyefusi, Miami Dolphins beat reporter,
Miami Herald; Tashan Reed, Las Vegas Raiders beat reporter, The Athletic; and
Josh Tolentino, Philadelphia Eagles beat reporter, Philadelphia Inquirer.