Former NFL players have voted 10 current players and one coach as 2002 NFL Alumni Player of the Year honorees. This is the 21st year the NFL Alumni has held balloting for its Player of the Year awards. The complete 2002 Player of the Year selections are:
OFFENSE
• Quarterback-Rich Gannon (Oakland Raiders)
• Running Back-Priest Holmes (Kansas City Chiefs)
• Wide Receiver-Marvin Harrison (Indianapolis Colts)
• Tight End-Bubba Franks (Green Bay Packers)
• Offensive Lineman-Jonathan Ogden (Baltimore Ravens)
DEFENSE
• Defensive Lineman-Simeon Rice (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
• Pass Rusher-Jason Taylor (Miami Dolphins)
• Linebacker-Derrick Brooks (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
• Defensive Back-Patrick Surtain (Miami Dolphins)
SPECIAL TEAMS
• Special Teams Player- Michael Lewis (New Orleans Saints)
• Coach-Andy Reid (Philadelphia Eagles)
These players were honored by a unique voting process in which former players cast ballots for their modern counterparts. Former pros vote only for the positions they once played themselves. Players who played both ways are allowed two votes-one each for the offensive and defensive position they played. This balloting process has been a hallmark of the NFL Alumni Player of the Year awards, which have come to be known as "the best of the past honor the best of the present."
The 2002 awardees will be honored at the 21st annual Player of the Year Awards Dinner, to be held Saturday evening, Jan. 25, 2003, at the Manchester Grand Hyatt in downtown San Diego, Calif. The $1,250-per-seat fundraiser is being presented by Forbes magazine. During the awards ceremony, each awardee will receive his Player of the Year award from a Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinee.
