The Pro Football Writers of America announced Thursday that former Associated Press writer Barry Wilner as the 2026 Bill Nunn Jr. Award winner.
The Nunn Award is given to a reporter who has made a long and distinguished contribution to pro football through coverage. The award is named for Nunn, who, before his Hall of Fame scouting career with the Steelers, worked for 22 years at the Pittsburgh Courier, one of the most influential Black publications in the United States.
Wilner covered the NFL from 1985 until his retirement in 2022.
The 58th Nunn Award honoree is the third journalist who primarily worked at the Associated Press to win the award, joining Jack Hand (1976) and Dave Goldberg (2015). Wilner is a seven-time finalist for the Nunn Award (2020-26).
Other 2026 finalists for the Nunn Award were Clarence Hill Jr. (AllDLLS.com) and Mike Silver (The Athletic).
Wilner began his 46-year full-time career at the Associated Press in 1976, and he started covering the NFL as the Jets beat writer from 1985-2004. He added national duties in 1988, while also covering NFL-wide news and events. Wilner switched to covering the NFL entirely in 2005, and he eventually took over as the AP’s NFL point man when Dave Goldberg retired in 2009, remaining in that role until his retirement in July 2022.
He covered 35 Super Bowls for the AP, including 34 consecutive from Super Bowl XXI in January 1987 through Super Bowl LIV in February 2020. His final Super Bowl assignment before his retirement was Super Bowl LVI in February 2022.
Wilner also covered 13 Olympic Games, nine World Cups, seven Stanley Cup Final series and a variety of other sporting events for the AP in his career.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame will honor Wilner in Canton, Ohio, at the Enshrinees’ Gold Jacket Dinner on Friday, Aug. 7 at the Canton Memorial Civic Center.
