Empowering Black Entrepreneurship: Stories of Success, Strategy & Growth
June 11, 2025
His older brother, Eddie, accepted the diploma on the late NFL great’s behalf.
NFL legend Walter Payton, who passed away in 1999, was awarded a Golden Diploma from his alma mater, Jackson State University, during the school’s May 3 commencement ceremonies.
According to HBCU Gameday, the university honored Payton as it celebrated the 50th reunion of the Class of 1975.
He received the diploma during a special tribute for the “Golden Class”—a group of 97 alumni who returned to JSU to mark the milestone. “I couldn’t think of anything that I would rather have done than be here in Walter’s place,” said Eddie Payton, who received the Golden Diploma on his brother’s behalf.
“I know if he would have been here, he would have been front and center with a big smile on his face.”
Payton starred for the Chicago Bears from 1975 to 1987 after graduating from Jackson State. At Jackson State, Payton, as a running back, was voted Black College Player of the Year in 1973 and 1974. During his career at JSU, Payton averaged an astounding 6.1 yards per carry, accumulated 3,563 rushing yards, and scored 464 points, according to the Black College Football Hall of Fame page.
In the NFL, Payton rushed for a single-game record 275 yards in 1977, the season he won the league’s Most Valuable Player award. Before retiring, he won an elusive Super Bowl ring when the 1985 Bears were one of the best football teams. When he retired in 1987, Payton finished with 16,726 yards, then the most in NFL history. He was selected for nine Pro Bowls and was a five-time All-Pro.
Payton was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993 and made the College Football Hall of Fame in 1996. He was posthumously inducted into the Black College Football Hall of Fame in 2010.
On November 1, 1999, Payton died of bile duct cancer. He was 46.
After his death, the NFL added Payton’s name to its NFL Man of the Year Award, which is awarded to the football player who is committed to philanthropy and community impact. Payton won the award in 1977.
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