The AP has presented an award recognizing the NFL's top player since 1957. The award is voted upon by a panel of 50 sportswriters at the end of theregular season, before theplayoffs, though the results are not announced to the public until the day before theSuper Bowl. The sportswriters chosen regularly follow the NFL, and remain mostly consistent from year to year. They are chosen based on expertise and are independent of the league itself.[4] Voters for the award have includedTroy Aikman ofFox Sports;Cris Collinsworth andTony Dungy ofNBC Sports; andHerm Edwards ofESPN.[4] Only two players in the history of the award have won it unanimously:New England Patriots quarterbackTom Brady in2010 andBaltimore Ravens quarterbackLamar Jackson in2019.[5]
Due to voters' tendency to favor offensive positions (mostly the quarterback and sometimes the running back),[6][7][8][9] the award has been overwhelmingly dominated by offensive players; of the 54 undisputed winners, 54 played an offensive position: 50 quarterbacks and 4running backs. Two defensive players have won the award:Alan Page in 1971 as adefensive tackle, andLawrence Taylor as alinebacker in 1986. The solespecial teams player to be named AP NFL MVP wasMark Moseley, who won as aplacekicker in 1982.[10]
Thirteen awardees also won theSuper Bowl (orNFL Championship Game prior to 1966) in the same season. However, this did not occur from 1997 to 2021. During that span, nine AP NFL MVPs have led their team to the Super Bowl and were defeated each time.[11] This has led to tongue-in-cheek claims in recent years that there is a "curse" preventing the awardee's team from winning the Super Bowl.[12][13]
TheGreen Bay Packers have the most overall winners with ten; if including disputed awards (see below), the Colts would be tied with ten. The Green Bay Packers also have the most unique winners with five players winning the award.
The AP has presented an award recognizing the NFL's top player since the 1957 season,[4][14] although the pre-1961 awardees are recognized in theOfficial NFL Record and Fact Book as winning the AP's "NFL Most Outstanding Player" award,[10][15] and the 1962 winner was recognized as the AP's "Player of the Year".[16][17] The AP considers 1961 to be the first year in which it presented a "Most Valuable Player" award.[16][18][19] Thus there are numerous inconsistencies among sources regarding each of the first four awards, and whether or not the winners are included in the overall list of AP MVP winners at all. The discrepancies include 1958's winner being eitherJim Brown orGino Marchetti; the 1959 winner asJohnny Unitas orCharlie Conerly; and whether or notNorm Van Brocklin shared the award in 1960 withJoe Schmidt.[16]
^Beginning with the 2022 season, AP voters began filling out a ranked MVP ballot of five players. Mahomes received 48 first-place votes and two second-place votes, for a total of 490 out of 500 potential points.
^Jackson received 49 first-place votes and one third-place vote, for a total of 493 out of 500 potential points.[90]
^Allen received 27 first-place votes, 22 second-place votes and one third-place vote, for a total of 383 out of 500 potential points.
Gellerman, Jacob; Drexler, Sam; Marini, Matt; Cocchiaro, Nicolas; Zerkel, Alex, eds. (2016).2018 Official NFL Record and Fact Book(PDF). National Football League. pp. 522–523.Archived(PDF) from the original on March 15, 2021. RetrievedAugust 14, 2018.
^Thomas, Jim (January 10, 2002)."Warner is in hunt for another NFL honor".St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. 20.Archived from the original on December 25, 2017. RetrievedFebruary 2, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.The Associated Press MVP award is the most prestigious, but it's only Round 1 when it comes to NFL player-of-the-year awards.
^abLee, Brenden; Gellerman, Jacob; King, Robert, eds. (2015).2015 Official NFL Record and Fact Book(PDF). National Football League. p. 524.Archived(PDF) from the original on October 1, 2015. RetrievedJune 21, 2016.
^Garven, Rich (December 18, 2016)."Strong showing in Denver should bolster Brady for MVP".The Providence Journal.Archived from the original on March 10, 2018. RetrievedFebruary 1, 2017.Including the four years prior to 1961 when it was known as the Most Outstanding Player award...
^abcTurney, John (January 11, 2010)."AP gets it partially right".Pro Football Weekly. Archived from the original on December 16, 2011. RetrievedFebruary 1, 2017.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^Pelissero, Tom (December 22, 2016)."Who's the NFL MVP: Our sampling of executives gives Ezekiel Elliott the edge".USA Today.Archived from the original on December 27, 2016. RetrievedFebruary 1, 2017.Fifty media members (I'm one of them) will vote by Jan. 4 for awards given out by The Associated Press, which began awarding the MVP in 1961 and has never given it to a rookie. (Cleveland Browns fullback Jim Brown did win what was then called NFL Player of the Year in his rookie year in 1957.)
^"National Football League MVPs".The San Diego Union-Tribune. Associated Press. February 6, 2016.Archived from the original on March 4, 2017. RetrievedFebruary 1, 2017.
^abHand, Jack (December 15, 1966)."Bart Starr Most Valuable Player".The Morning Record. Associated Press. p. 9.Archived from the original on October 1, 2018. RetrievedAugust 3, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
^ab"Raiders' Allen MVP in NFL".The Zanesville Times-Reporter. Associated Press. December 30, 1985. p. 3-B.Archived from the original on February 8, 2022. RetrievedFebruary 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^"Hornung Is 'Most Valuable'".Star Tribune. Associated Press. December 21, 1961. p. 21.Archived from the original on July 8, 2018. RetrievedFebruary 2, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
^"FB Taylor top player for season".Austin American. Associated Press. December 14, 1962. p. 42.Archived from the original on February 11, 2022. RetrievedFebruary 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^Becker, Jim (December 13, 1963)."Tittle named most valuable".Kentucky New Era. Associated Press. p. 16.Archived from the original on February 8, 2022. RetrievedJune 27, 2016.
^Beard, Gordon (December 19, 1968)."Morrall Most Valuable Player".The Evening News. Associated Press. p. 6D.Archived from the original on February 8, 2022. RetrievedJune 27, 2016.
^"Gabriel named MVP in NFL".Tallahassee Democrat. Associated Press. December 19, 1969. p. 10.Archived from the original on February 10, 2022. RetrievedFebruary 10, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^"Brodie Nips Blanda As 'Most Valuable'".Lincoln Evening Journal. Associated Press. January 7, 1971. p. 11.Archived from the original on February 10, 2018. RetrievedJanuary 31, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
^Swanson, Merrill (January 8, 1972)."Vikings' Page takes the cake".Star Tribune. p. 17.Archived from the original on September 12, 2017. RetrievedJanuary 31, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
^"Larry Brown 'Most Valuable'".Garden City Telegram. Associated Press. January 8, 1973. p. 2.Archived from the original on February 11, 2018. RetrievedJanuary 31, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
^Bock, Hal (January 9, 1975)."Stabler Most Valuable".The Corbin Times-Tribune. Associated Press. p. 3.Archived from the original on September 12, 2017. RetrievedJanuary 31, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
^"Colts' Jones most valuable".Reno Gazette-Journal. Associated Press. December 30, 1976. p. 14.Archived from the original on November 7, 2017. RetrievedFebruary 1, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
^Lutz, Michael (December 19, 1979)."Campbell selected as 'Most Valuable'".The Free Lance-Star. Associated Press. p. 10.Archived from the original on February 8, 2022. RetrievedFebruary 1, 2017.
^Melvin, Chuck (January 7, 1981)."Sipe caught off guard by MVP award".Reno Gazette-Journal. Associated Press. p. 27.Archived from the original on February 11, 2018. RetrievedFebruary 1, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
^"AP names Moseley MVP".Poughkeepsie Journal. Associated Press. January 4, 1983. p. 11.Archived from the original on February 6, 2020. RetrievedFebruary 1, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
^"Marino Honored As Most Valuable".The Cincinnati Enquirer. Associated Press. December 22, 1984. p. 15.Archived from the original on September 12, 2017. RetrievedFebruary 1, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
^"Taylor wins awards".Star-News. December 31, 1986. p. 2B.Archived from the original on February 8, 2022. RetrievedJanuary 10, 2017.
^"Esiason voted Most Valuable Player".The Santa Fe New Mexican. Associated Press. December 30, 1988.Archived from the original on February 11, 2018. RetrievedFebruary 1, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
^"AP Names Montana MVP".Albuquerque Journal. Associated Press. January 3, 1990. p. 17.Archived from the original on September 12, 2017. RetrievedFebruary 1, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
^Babineau, Jeff (January 11, 1994)."Emmitt Is Most Valuable".Orlando Sentinel.Archived from the original on September 12, 2017. RetrievedFebruary 1, 2017.
^Wilner, Barry (January 4, 1995)."49er QB Young is NFL MVP".Da Kalb Daily Chronicle. Associated Press. p. 11.Archived from the original on February 11, 2022. RetrievedFebruary 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^Kessenich, Tom (December 31, 1996)."Favre is super again".The Oshkosh Northwestern. p. 25.Archived from the original on September 12, 2017. RetrievedFebruary 1, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
^"Davis wins MVP award in runaway".Florida Today. January 10, 1999. p. 1C.Archived from the original on February 11, 2022. RetrievedFebruary 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^"Warner an Easy MVP Winner".Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. January 6, 2000.Archived from the original on September 21, 2015. RetrievedFebruary 1, 2017.
^Mullin, John (December 28, 2000)."Rams' Faulk Runs Off With MVP".Chicago Tribune. p. IV-12.Archived from the original on February 11, 2022. RetrievedFebruary 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^Thomas, Jim (January 10, 2002)."Warner quietly wins MVP".St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. 27.Archived from the original on September 12, 2017. RetrievedFebruary 2, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
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