The NFL Alumni Player of the Year Awards were held last Friday night in Indianapolis and were broadcast on NFL Network on Monday night. During the show, awards were handed out for several categories, including Quarterback of the Year. Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford, along with New England's Tom Brady and Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers, was up for the award, and Stafford surprisingly won it.
"Wow, this is an awesome honor -- I appreciate it," Stafford said during his acceptance speech. "Thank you, first off, to the alumni for voting for me. There are a lot of great quarterbacks that could have won this award and definitely deserved it as well. Any time an award like this is given out, it's an individual award, but really, it's won by the team. I couldn't have done it without the teammates and the coaching staff in Detroit. I'm just happy to be part of that team and be part of this."
According to Justin Rogers, Stafford was also one of the nominees for the Player of the Year Award, which was won by Jacksonville Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew. Wide receiver Calvin Johnson was a nominee for the Receiver of the Year Award, but New York's Hakeem Nicks won it.
Clearly, the thought process that went into the voting for these awards was a bit different than the usual awards.