He was elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993, the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame that same year, and the College Football Hall of Fame in 1996. He was named to the NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team in 1994 and the NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team in 2019. Hall of Fame NFL player and coach Mike Ditka described Payton as the greatest football player he had ever seen—but even greater as a human being.
Payton began his football career in Mississippi and went on to have an outstanding college football career at Jackson State University playing for the Tigers, where he was named Little All-American twice. He started his professional career with the Chicago Bears in 1975, who selected him with the 1975 draft's fourth overall pick. Payton proceeded to win the 1977 AP NFL Most Valuable Player Award and won Super Bowl XX with the 1985 Chicago Bears. He retired from football at the end of the 1987 season having rushed for at least 1,200 yards in 10 of his 13 seasons in the NFL (with two of those thirteen being lockout-shortened seasons).
After struggling with the rare liver disease primary sclerosing cholangitis for several months, Payton died on November 1, 1999, from cholangiocarcinoma at the age of 46. His legacy includes being the namesake of the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award, Walter Payton Award, and a heightened awareness of the need for organ donations.
The Chicago Bears drafted Walter Payton in the first round of the 1975 NFL draft as the fourth overall pick. Payton was assigned #21 by the team but switched to #34 before the season started. The Bears had endured several losing seasons after the retirement of the iconic Gale Sayers in 1972. Payton's first game was not particularly successful; he was held to zero net rushing yards on eight attempts. His best performance of the season was the final game against the New Orleans Saints, where he rushed for 134 yards on 20 carries. Payton finished the season with only 679 yards and seven touchdowns. However, Payton led the league in yards per kickoff return.
The Bears struggled to assemble consecutive winning seasons, landing only two playoff berths since his arrival. The lack of success prompted the Bears' management to replace Neill Armstrong with Mike Ditka for the season that began in the Fall of 1982. Ditka, a tight end during the 1960s and 1970s who would also join the Pro Football Hall of Fame, led the Bears to a 3–6 (strike-shortened) record in 1982. He led the Bears to an 8–8 finish in 1983 and to a 10–6 finish in 1984. Payton continued his success by rushing for more than 1,400 yards in both seasons. On September 19, 1984, Payton passed Franco Harris as the active leader in career rushing yards. Three weeks later, on October 7, 1984, against the New Orleans Saints, Payton broke Jim Brown's career rushing record of 12,312 yards. In 1985, Payton rushed for more than 1,500 yards, helping the Bears establish the league's second-best offense with the emergence of quarterback Jim McMahon. The Bears' 46 defense of that season would go on to become one of the best in NFL history, setting a record for fewest points allowed. In one 1984 game, Payton was pressed into service as the team's fourth-string quarterback.
Payton performed with his teammates in the widely released 1985 music video The Super Bowl Shuffle. The Bears went on to a 15–1 record that culminated in a 46–10 victory over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XX. Although Payton's offensive prowess had assisted the Bears throughout the 1985 season, he did not score any touchdowns in the postseason and the New England Patriots prevented him from reaching the end zone in the Super Bowl. According to quarterback Jim McMahon, he was targeted by two or three defenders on every play, and others stated that Payton's mere presence allowed others to shine, given that at least two people were targeting Payton on every play. In a later interview, Ditka stated that one of his major regrets was Payton's lack of a touchdown in the Super Bowl.
Payton, who was a 12-year veteran, amassed 1,333 yards in the 1986 NFL season. The Bears won the NFC Central Division, but lost to the Washington Redskins 27–13 in the divisional round. At the end of the 1986 season, he announced that he would retire from professional football after completing the 1987 NFL season. During his last season with the Bears, Payton split carries with his successor, Neal Anderson, and rushed for a career-low 533 yards along with four touchdowns. Payton's career ended with another loss to the Washington Redskins in the divisional round of the playoffs by the score of 21–17 on January 10, 1988. Over his entire career, Payton rushed for 16,726 yards, which broke the record for most rushing yards by any NFL player in history, and scored 110 touchdowns. He caught 492 passes for 4,538 yards and 15 touchdowns. Payton set several team records, including most career rushing yards, receptions, touchdowns, and touchdown passes by a running back. His jersey number was retired by the Bears, and he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993.
Payton married Connie Norwood in 1976. During his rookie year, he resided in a home on the north side of Arlington Heights, Illinois. The couple had two children, Jarrett Payton (born 1980) and Brittney Payton (1985) and resided in South Barrington, Illinois. Payton's marriage of 18 years came to an abrupt end when he unexpectedly served Norwood divorce papers for joint custody; however, despite not living together for most of the remainder of Payton's life, the divorce was never made official.
Payton was inducted as a laureate of The Lincoln Academy of Illinois and awarded the Order of Lincoln by the governor of Illinois in 1987 in the area of sports. In 1988, he received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement.
In 1987, Payton accidentally shot a manager of a nightclub in Schaumburg, Illinois, that was owned by Payton. Payton had recently bought the 9 mm French-made Manurhin Pistolet for his collection and was unaware that it was loaded. The pistol, which was described as a collector's handgun that was registered, discharged while being handed to Payton by a third party while pointed at the nightclub manager, Elmer Ray Hutson Jr.; Hutson suffered knee damage from the shooting.
Payton battled with depression after his playing career. His agent, Bud Holmes, recalled Payton talked about committing suicide. His executive assistant, Ginny Quirk, also recounted a similar instance where Payton said, "You won't see me when you get to the office tomorrow. Enjoy life without me."
A Christian, Payton attended the non-denominational Destiny Church in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, in the years after retiring from football.
In 1990, Payton, along with many other investors, sought to bring an NFL expansion team to St. Louis, Missouri, and Payton expressed his interest in becoming the first minority owner in NFL history. Although the NFL strongly favored a franchise in St. Louis, their efforts were thwarted because of internal dissension among the investment group members. leading the NFL to award franchises to investment groups in Jacksonville, Florida (Jacksonville Jaguars), and Charlotte, North Carolina (Carolina Panthers). St. Louis eventually received a team when the Los Angeles Rams moved to the city in 1995.
Payton pursued various business ventures in retirement, including becoming co-owner of Dale Coyne Racing in the CART IndyCar World Series. He also drove in several Trans-Am Series events, including a 1993 race at Road America in which his car overturned and caught fire. He suffered burns but escaped serious injury.
In 1995, he and several partners purchased a roundhouse in Aurora, Illinois that had previously belonged to the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad. The property became known as "Walter Payton's Roundhouse", hosting a restaurant, brewery, banquet and meeting facility, and museum. In 1999, the property received an award from the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The beers brewed at the Roundhouse received awards in the 2000s.
In February 1999, Payton announced that he had a rare liver disease known as primary sclerosing cholangitis, which may have led to his cholangiocarcinoma (bile duct cancer). He spent his final months as an advocate for organ transplants, appearing in many commercials to encourage others to donate organs, although by the time his first appeal was recorded, his illness was already too far advanced for transplantation to have been a viable option. In April of that year, Payton made a final public appearance at a Chicago Cubs game with Mike Ditka, where he threw the game's ceremonial first pitch. Author Don Yaeger worked with him during the last weeks of his life to create his autobiography, Never Die Easy.
On November 1, 1999, Payton died from the complications that arose from his illness. He was 46 years old. During the same week, the NFL held special ceremonies in each game to commemorate his career and legacy. In addition, the Chicago Bears wore special #34 patches on their jerseys to honor Payton.
Speakers at Payton's public funeral service, held in Soldier Field, included then National Football League Commissioner Paul Tagliabue; former teammate Dan Hampton; his widow, Connie Payton; and his children, Jarrett and Brittney. Among the 1,000 mourners at the private service were John Madden; Illinois Governor George Ryan; Chicago's mayor Richard M. Daley; former teammates Matt Suhey, Mike Singletary, Roland Harper, and Jim McMahon; the Bears' equipment manager and building superintendent.
Payton's legacy continues through the charitable Walter and Connie Payton Foundation. His own appeals—and, after his death, his foundation's—for greater awareness of the need for organ donations are widely credited with bringing national attention to the problem. After his appeals, donations in Illinois skyrocketed, and the regional organ bank of Illinois was overwhelmed with calls. In response, the City of Chicago inserted organ donation requests into city-vehicle-registration mailings in early 2000, and, by August 2000, 13,000 people had signed on to the program. The foundation continues to run a program that Payton organized to donate toys to underprivileged children across the Chicago area each Christmas. The family established the Walter Payton Cancer Fund in 2002.
Pro Football Focus founder Neil Hornsby in 2010 named Payton as the greatest player in NFL history. Many modern NFL running backs have cited Payton as a source of inspiration. Emmitt Smith tearfully paid homage to Payton after breaking Payton's rushing record. LaDainian Tomlinson, who set numerous records during the 2006 NFL season, named Payton as one of his foremost mentors and inspirations. Ahman Green, a former player for the Bears' rival Green Bay Packers, is said to have idolized Payton, viewing the highlight film "Pure Payton" before each game. Walter's son, Jarrett Payton, was a running back for the Tennessee Titans, NFL Europe's Amsterdam Admirals, CFL's Montreal Alouettes, and IFL's Chicago Slaughter. During his tenure at the University of Miami, Jarrett wore a #34 jersey to honor his father's memory. In 2009, Jarrett married on March 4 (3/4), which was intentionally set to coincide with Payton's jersey number.
The city of Chicago has honored Payton's memory in several ways. In 1999, the city created a special city sticker that featured Payton. The profits from the sales of these stickers along with the special license plate created by the State of Illinois are given to support organ-donor programs across Illinois. Also, the city named a magnet high school, Walter Payton College Prep, in his honor. In September 2007, the University of Illinois at Chicago Medical Center opened the Walter Payton Liver Center after a generous donation from Payton's family, who were pleased with the care he received there. Chicago Metra commuters have long been witness to a simple "#34 Sweetness", painted on a bridge piling of the Air Line on the south end of the Chicago Union Station yards. The State of Illinois has named U.S. Route 34 in Illinois as the Walter Payton Memorial Highway.
Until its sale to Two Brothers Brewing in 2011, Walter Payton's Roundhouse continued to draw hundreds of thousands of visitors annually to the Aurora, Illinois site. A plaque now hangs on the building commemorating Payton. There are two athletic awards named after Payton. The NCAA gives the "Walter Payton Award" to the best offensive player from a Division I FCS (still often known by its former designation of Division I-AA) football team. The NFL hands out the "Walter Payton Man of the Year" award for player achievements in community service during a particular season. The wellness center at Jackson State University is also named in honor of him, known as "The Walter Payton Recreation and Wellness Center."
The Chicago Bears honored Payton's career and life on November 1, 2009, by airing a special tribute video during halftime. The video consisted of highlight clips from Payton's career and interview segments from Mike Ditka, Virginia McCaskey, Richard Dent, and many other members of the Bears organization. Payton's wife, daughter, son, and mother were present to watch the video, which aired on Soldier Field's Jumbotron.[76] The Bears later named their official indoor practice and training facility at Halas Hall in Lake Forest, Illinois after Payton.
After Payton's death, Nickol Knoll Hill, an old landfill site turned into a golf course in Arlington Heights, Illinois, was renamed "Payton's Hill". There are two plaques on the hill to remind visitors of the hill that it was where Payton used to train in the 1970s and 1980s. Payton did his morning run at the hill every day. Pictures and memorabilia of Payton cover the walls of the golf course clubhouse.
The asteroid 85386 Payton, discovered by the Air Force Maui Optical and Supercomputing observatory in 1996, is named in Payton's memory. The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on May 20, 2008 (M.P.C. 62930).
In September 2019, the Chicago Tribune named Payton the greatest Bears player of all time.
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