The Colts on Thursday announced Kenny Moore II as their 2025 Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee, with the cornerback's contributions on and off the field earning him consideration for the NFL's most prestigious individual honor.
Moore has now been the Colts' Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee three times (2021, 2024, 2025).
The 30-year-old Moore is widely regarded as one of the NFL's best slot cornerbacks. In 2025, Moore is holding opposing quarterbacks to a passer rating of 81.3 when targeting him in coverage, the lowest mark of his career, and he recorded his fourth career pick-six in the Colts' Week 3 win over the Tennessee Titans.
He's a rugged run defender, too, and entering Week 14 he's one of eight cornerbacks with at least 150 run defense snaps to not be charged with a missed tackle, per Pro Football Focus. And Moore has been used frequently as a blitzer in 2025 (27 times, fourth-most among cornerbacks), with those rushes highlighted by a strip-sack of Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa in Week 1.
While the Colts have benefitted from Moore's play on the field since claiming him off waivers just before the start of the 2017 season, the cities Valdosta, Ga. and Indianapolis – his hometown and adopted hometown – have similarly benefitted from his presence and intentional efforts within those communities.
Moore launched his Love One Foundation in 2022, and through it he's made significant contributions to those in need in Valdosta and Indianapolis. Moore's primary focus through his Love One Foundation are youth football camps, educational leadership, disaster relief, global outreach and mental health.
Moore in 2025 has continued a partnership with Cardinal Ritter High School in Indianapolis, in which he visits the school to mentor students on a weekly basis. Through those visits, "Mr. Kenny," as he's known within the walls of the school, forms meaningful bonds with students, is encouraging and inspiring them to grow and do what it takes to reach their goals; Moore is constantly thinking about how to grow as a mentor to those students. Moore also spoke this year at the Indiana Principal's Convention.
Moore is a heavily involved board member of A Kid Again, and he remains deeply committed to providing joy to children battling pediatric cancer, with his relationship with "Mighty" Mason Garvey and the Garvey family standing as a pillar of the person he is. Through his Love One Foundation, Moore also recognizes and supports children in foster care as well as single mothers with intentional, thoughtful initiatives.
Over the last few years, Moore has been heavily involved in promoting and supporting Kicking The Stigma, the Irsay family initiative focused on mental health awareness, research and treatment, and on removing the stigma so often associated with mental health disorders. Moore in 2025 supported Kicking The Stigma in the NFL’s annual “My Cause, My Cleats” initiative.
And on Moore's lone day off during the season, he can be found across Indianapolis volunteering as part of the Colts' weekly "Community Tuesday" events.
In his hometown of Valdosta, Moore again hosted his annual youth football camp, engaging with kids, teaching them about football and showing how far hard work can take someone. Moore, too, has supported Valdosta in the wake of multiple devastating hurricanes over the last few years, with his Love One Foundation providing free hot meals, clean water and essential supplies to help his community rebound.
Recently, Moore has – alongside the Colts – expanded his efforts internationally to help grow the game of football in Germany, where the Colts have a significant presence and hosted their first international game in 2025 at Olympic Stadium in Berlin.
But the most important thing to understand with Moore, though, is not necessarily how much time or how much money he pours into these efforts. It's that every minute and every dollar Moore provides is to a cause that's authentic to him. He understands the importance of being present. And he cares deeply about those he's able to reach.
One example: Moore in October participated in an event at Lucas Oil Stadium with kids who were receiving or have received care at Peyton Manning Children's Hospital, interacting with several kids while helping them create letterman jackets as part of a "homecoming" theme. One of those kids came to Moore with an idea for how he could celebrate a big play in a game – it was a hand-washing celebration, and Moore promised he'd use it.
Less than a week later, Moore recorded a sack against the Tennessee Titans, ran a few yards upfield and hit the celebration that kid taught him during the event.
