Associated Press NFL Most Valuable Player Award
The Associated Press NFL Most Valuable Player Award is presented annually by the Associated Press (AP) to a player in the National Football League (NFL) deemed to have been the "most valuable" in that year's regular season. While there have been many selectors of NFL MVPs in the past, today the MVP award presented by the AP is considered the de facto official NFL MVP award and the most prestigious.[1][2] Since 2011, the NFL has held the annual NFL Honors ceremony to recognize the winner of each year's AP MVP award, along with other AP awards, such as the AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year and AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year.[3] The most recent AP NFL MVP is quarterback Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers.[4]
Awarded for | Most valuable player in the National Football League |
---|---|
Presented by | Associated Press |
History | |
First award | 1957 |
Most wins | Peyton Manning (5) |
Most recent | Aaron Rodgers (4) |
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 the regular season, before the playoffs, though the results are not announced to the public until the day before the Super 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.[5] Voters for the award have included Troy Aikman of Fox Sports; Cris Collinsworth and Tony Dungy of NBC Sports; and Herm Edwards of ESPN.[5] Only two players in the history of the award have won it unanimously: New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady in 2010 and Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson in 2019.[6]
Due to voters' tendency to favor offensive positions,[7][8] the award has been overwhelmingly dominated by offensive players; of the 57 undisputed winners, 54 played an offensive position: 38 quarterbacks and 16 running backs. Two defensive players have won the award: Alan Page in 1971 as a defensive tackle, and Lawrence Taylor as a linebacker in 1986. The sole special teams player to be named AP NFL MVP was Mark Moseley, who won as a placekicker in 1982.[9]
Thirteen awardees also won the Super Bowl (or NFL Championship Game prior to 1966) in the same season. However, this has not occurred since 1999, when MVP Kurt Warner won Super Bowl XXXIV with the St. Louis Rams.[9] Since then, nine AP NFL MVPs have led their team to the Super Bowl and were defeated each time.[10] 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.[11][12]
Seven NFL franchises have not produced an MVP, the New York Jets (not counting Joe Namath's two AFL MVPs), Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars, Chicago/St. Louis/Phoenix/Arizona Cardinals, Philadelphia Eagles, New Orleans Saints, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Green 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.
Discrepancies
The AP has presented an award recognizing the NFL's top player since the 1957 season,[5][13] although the pre-1961 awardees are recognized in the Official NFL Record and Fact Book as winning the AP's "NFL Most Outstanding Player Award",[9][14] and the 1962 winner was recognized as the AP's "Player of the Year".[15][16] The AP considers 1961 to be the first year in which it presented a "Most Valuable Player" award.[15][17][18] 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 either Jim Brown or Gino Marchetti; the 1959 winner as Johnny Unitas or Charlie Conerly; and whether or not Norm Van Brocklin shared the award in 1960 with Joe Schmidt.[15]
MVP Super bowl curse
In recent years, if a player that won the MVP makes it to the Super Bowl, the MVP often loses the Super Bowl in the year they won the MVP. That includes, Kurt Warner in 2001, Rich Gannon in 2002, Shaun Alexander in 2005, Tom Brady in 2007 and 2017, Peyton Manning in 2009 and 2013, Cam Newton in 2015, and Matt Ryan in 2016.[19]
Ten players have won the Super Bowl and MVP in the same season: Bart Starr in 1966, Terry Bradshaw in 1978, Mark Moseley in 1982, Lawrence Taylor in 1986, Joe Montana in 1989, Emmitt Smith in 1993, Steve Young in 1994, Brett Favre in 1996, Terrell Davis in 1998, and Kurt Warner in 1999. In these ten cases, all but four regular season MVP winners were also the Super Bowl MVP for their respective games - with Moseley, Taylor, Favre, and Davis not completing the duplicate MVP year.
Winners
Legend | |
---|---|
Winner received all available votes | |
Winner received at least 90% of available votes |
Season | Player | Position | Team | Votes | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1957 | Jim Brown | Running back | Cleveland Browns | 14 of 36 (39%) | [23][24] |
1958 | Jim Brown (2) | 22 of 41 (54%) | [25][26][24] | ||
1959 | Johnny Unitas | Quarterback | Baltimore Colts | 20 of 37 (54%) | [27][24] |
1960 | Norm Van Brocklin | Philadelphia Eagles | Not released | [26][24] | |
1961 | Paul Hornung | Running back | Green Bay Packers | Not released | [28] |
1962 | Jim Taylor | 19 of 40 (48%) | [29] | ||
1963 | Y. A. Tittle | Quarterback | New York Giants | 33 of 40 (79%) | [30] |
1964 | Johnny Unitas (2) | Baltimore Colts | 32 of 40 (80%) | [31] | |
1965 | Jim Brown (3) | Running back | Cleveland Browns | 34 of 42 (81%) | [32] |
1966 | Bart Starr | Quarterback | Green Bay Packers | 19 of 40 (48%) | [20] |
1967 | Johnny Unitas (3) | Baltimore Colts | 40 of 47 (81%) | [33] | |
1968 | Earl Morrall | 33 of 46 (81%) | [34] | ||
1969 | Roman Gabriel | Los Angeles Rams | 21+1⁄3 of 48 (44%) | [35] | |
1970 | John Brodie | San Francisco 49ers | 33 of 78 (42%) | [36] | |
1971 | Alan Page | Defensive tackle | Minnesota Vikings | 16 of 60 (21%) | [37] |
1972 | Larry Brown | Running back | Washington Redskins | 45 of 75 (40%) | [38] |
1973 | O. J. Simpson | Buffalo Bills | 74 of 78 (95%) | [21] | |
1974 | Ken Stabler | Quarterback | Oakland Raiders | 36 of 78 (46%) | [39] |
1975 | Fran Tarkenton | Minnesota Vikings | Not released | [40] | |
1976 | Bert Jones | Baltimore Colts | 41 of 84 (49%) | [41] | |
1977 | Walter Payton | Running back | Chicago Bears | 57 of 84 (68%) | [42] |
1978 | Terry Bradshaw | Quarterback | Pittsburgh Steelers | 36 of 84 (43%) | [43] |
1979 | Earl Campbell | Running back | Houston Oilers | 34 of 84 (41%) | [44] |
1980 | Brian Sipe | Quarterback | Cleveland Browns | 47 of 84 (56%) | [45] |
1981 | Ken Anderson | Cincinnati Bengals | 46 of 84 (55%) | [46] | |
1982 | Mark Moseley | Placekicker | Washington Redskins | 35 of 84 (42%) | [47] |
1983 | Joe Theismann | Quarterback | 58 of 84 (69%) | [48] | |
1984 | Dan Marino | Miami Dolphins | 52 of 84 (62%) | [49] | |
1985 | Marcus Allen | Running back | Los Angeles Raiders | 33 of 84 (39%) | [22] |
1986 | Lawrence Taylor | Linebacker | New York Giants | 41 of 84 (49%) | [50] |
1987 | John Elway | Quarterback | Denver Broncos | 36 of 84 (43%) | [51] |
1988 | Boomer Esiason | Cincinnati Bengals | 31 of 78 (40%) | [52] | |
1989 | Joe Montana | San Francisco 49ers | 62 of 70 (89%) | [53] | |
1990 | Joe Montana (2) | 26 of 80 (33%) | [54] | ||
1991 | Thurman Thomas | Running back | Buffalo Bills | 39 of 82 (48%) | [55] |
1992 | Steve Young | Quarterback | San Francisco 49ers | 56 of 80 (70%) | [56] |
1993 | Emmitt Smith | Running back | Dallas Cowboys | 26 of 81 (32%) | [57] |
1994 | Steve Young (2) | Quarterback | San Francisco 49ers | 74 of 98 (75%) | [58] |
1995 | Brett Favre | Green Bay Packers | 69 of 88 (78%) | [59] | |
1996 | Brett Favre (2) | 52 of 93 (56%) | [60] | ||
1997 | Brett Favre (3) Barry Sanders |
Quarterback Running back | Green Bay Packers Detroit Lions |
18 of 48 (38%) | [61] |
1998 | Terrell Davis | Running back | Denver Broncos | 25 of 47 (53%) | [62] |
1999 | Kurt Warner | Quarterback | St. Louis Rams | 33 of 50 (66%) | [63] |
2000 | Marshall Faulk | Running back | 24 of 50 (48%) | [64] | |
2001 | Kurt Warner (2) | Quarterback | 21+1⁄2 of 50 (43%) | [65] | |
2002 | Rich Gannon | Oakland Raiders | 19 of 48 (40%) | [66] | |
2003 | Peyton Manning Steve McNair |
Indianapolis Colts Tennessee Titans |
16 of 50 (32%) | [67] | |
2004 | Peyton Manning (2) | Indianapolis Colts | 47 of 48 (98%) | [68] | |
2005 | Shaun Alexander | Running back | Seattle Seahawks | 19 of 50 (38%) | [69] |
2006 | LaDainian Tomlinson | San Diego Chargers | 44 of 50 (88%) | [70] | |
2007 | Tom Brady | Quarterback | New England Patriots | 49 of 50 (98%) | [71] |
2008 | Peyton Manning (3) | Indianapolis Colts | 32 of 50 (64%) | [72] | |
2009 | Peyton Manning (4) | 39+1⁄2 of 50 (79%) | [73] | ||
2010 | Tom Brady (2) | New England Patriots | 50 of 50 (100%) | [74] | |
2011 | Aaron Rodgers | Green Bay Packers | 48 of 50 (96%) | [75] | |
2012 | Adrian Peterson | Running back | Minnesota Vikings | 30+1⁄2 of 50 (61%) | [76] |
2013 | Peyton Manning (5) | Quarterback | Denver Broncos | 49 of 50 (98%) | [77] |
2014 | Aaron Rodgers (2) | Green Bay Packers | 31 of 50 (62%) | [78] | |
2015 | Cam Newton | Carolina Panthers | 48 of 50 (96%) | [79] | |
2016 | Matt Ryan | Atlanta Falcons | 25 of 50 (50%) | [80] | |
2017 | Tom Brady (3) | New England Patriots | 40 of 50 (80%) | [81] | |
2018 | Patrick Mahomes | Kansas City Chiefs | 41 of 50 (82%) | [82] | |
2019 | Lamar Jackson | Baltimore Ravens | 50 of 50 (100%) | [83] | |
2020 | Aaron Rodgers (3) | Green Bay Packers | 44 of 50 (88%) | [84] | |
2021 | Aaron Rodgers (4) | 39 of 50 (78%) | [85] |
Multiple-time winners
Awards | Player | Team(s) | Years | Year inducted into Pro Football Hall of Fame |
---|---|---|---|---|
5 | Peyton Manning | Indianapolis Colts | 2003, 2004, 2008, 2009 | 2021 |
Denver Broncos | 2013 | |||
4 | Aaron Rodgers | Green Bay Packers | 2011, 2014, 2020, 2021 | Active |
3 | Jim Brown | Cleveland Browns | 1957, 1958, 1965 | 1971 |
Johnny Unitas | Baltimore Colts | 1959, 1964, 1967 | 1979 | |
Brett Favre | Green Bay Packers | 1995, 1996, 1997 | 2016 | |
Tom Brady | New England Patriots | 2007, 2010, 2017 | Active | |
2 | Joe Montana | San Francisco 49ers | 1989, 1990 | 2000 |
Steve Young | 1992, 1994 | 2005 | ||
Kurt Warner | St. Louis Rams | 1999, 2001 | 2017 |
See also
- National Football League Most Valuable Player Award for an overview of similar awards from other organizations
- Associated Press NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award
- Associated Press NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award
- Associated Press NFL Coach of the Year Award
- Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Award
References
- General
- "AP NFL Most Valuable Player Winners". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved February 5, 2018.
- "Full list of NFL MVP winners". Sports Illustrated. February 2, 2016. Retrieved February 1, 2017.
- 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. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
- Footnotes
- Bieler, Des (January 20, 2016). "Pro Football Writers name Cam Newton their NFL MVP". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
The AP NFL awards, which essentially serve as the official league honors...
- Thomas, Jim (January 10, 2002). "Warner is in hunt for another NFL honor". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. 20. Retrieved February 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.
- "First-ever 'NFL Honors' show will be hosted by Baldwin in Indy". NFL.com. National Football League. January 3, 2012. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
- "Tom Brady Wins His Third M.V.P. Award". The New York Times. Associated Press. February 3, 2018. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
- Kreinberg, Jake (February 3, 2016). "How we count the votes for the NFL's top awards". AP Insights. Associated Press. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
I think the first year we gave out awards was 1957.
- Jamison, Hensley. "Ravens QB Lamar Jackson unanimous pick for NFL MVP after historic season". ESPN. Retrieved February 2, 2020.
- Mays, Robert (December 12, 2014). "How Hard Is It for a Defensive Player to Win NFL MVP? Just Ask These Guys". Grantland. ESPN. Retrieved April 25, 2017.
- Greenberg, Micah (December 21, 2016). "Forget the MVP, Award Position Groups". Fox Sports. Retrieved April 25, 2017.
- Lee, Brenden; Gellerman, Jacob; King, Robert, eds. (2015). 2015 Official NFL Record and Fact Book (PDF). National Football League. p. 524. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
- Campbell, Dave (February 5, 2018). "Brady takes his 3rd Super Bowl loss, despite 500-yard game". Chicago Tribune. Associated Press. Archived from the original on February 7, 2018. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
- Breech, John (February 2, 2017). "Tom Brady, Matt Ryan beware: NFL MVP is in the middle of an ugly Super Bowl drought". CBS Sports. Retrieved April 26, 2017.
- Joyner, KC (January 28, 2016). "Why Cam Newton should worry about MVP curse in Super Bowl 50". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 26, 2017.
- "AP NFL Most Valuable Player Winners". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved June 20, 2016.
- Garven, Rich (December 18, 2016). "Strong showing in Denver should bolster Brady for MVP". The Providence Journal. Retrieved February 1, 2017.
Including the four years prior to 1961 when it was known as the Most Outstanding Player award...
- Turney, John (January 11, 2010). "AP gets it partially right". Pro Football Weekly. Archived from the original on December 16, 2011. Retrieved February 1, 2017.
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - "Jim Taylor Player of Year and Allie Sherman Coach of Year in NFL Voting". The Evening Times. Associated Press. December 13, 1962. p. 14. Retrieved January 31, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
- Pelissero, Tom (December 22, 2016). "Who's the NFL MVP: Our sampling of executives gives Ezekiel Elliott the edge". USA Today. Retrieved February 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. Retrieved February 1, 2017.
- "Tom Brady aiming for rare double: regular season MVP, Super Bowl MVP". NBCSports.com.
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- "Jim Brown of Cleveland is Grid Laurels Voted Top Pro". The Gettysburg Times. Associated Press. January 8, 1958. Retrieved February 2, 2017.
- Miller, Sterling (December 8, 2015). The Evolution of Professional Football: An Almanac (1920 to 2015). Hillcrest Publishing Group. pp. 52–56. ISBN 978-1-60057-207-4. Retrieved February 3, 2017.
"AP NFL Most Valuable Player Winners". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
"Full list of NFL MVP winners". Sports Illustrated. February 2, 2016. Retrieved February 1, 2017. - "Brown Tops Unitas In Most Valuable Player Vote". Park City Daily News. Associated Press. January 12, 1959. p. 7. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
- Lee, Brenden; Gellerman, Jacob; Marini, Matt, eds. (2016). 2016 Official NFL Record and Fact Book (PDF). National Football League. pp. 524–525. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
Janssen, Sarah (December 6, 2016). The World Almanac and Book of Facts 2017. Simon and Schuster. p. 1,994. ISBN 978-1600572074. Retrieved February 3, 2017. - "Unitas Named Player Of Year In Pro Football". The Tuscaloosa News. Associated Press. December 24, 1959. p. 10. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
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- Lutz, Michael (December 19, 1979). "Campbell selected as 'Most Valuable'". The Free Lance-Star. Associated Press. p. 10. Retrieved February 1, 2017.
- Melvin, Chuck (January 7, 1981). "Sipe caught off guard by MVP award". Reno Gazette-Journal. Associated Press. p. 27. Retrieved February 1, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Ken Anderson named Most Valuable Player". Courier-Post. Associated Press. January 5, 1982. p. 17. Retrieved February 1, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
- "AP names Moseley MVP". Poughkeepsie Journal. Associated Press. January 4, 1983. p. 11. Retrieved February 1, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Redskins Sweep Awards: Theismann, Gibbs Named". The Burlington Free Press. Associated Press. December 21, 1983. p. 25. Retrieved February 1, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
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- "Taylor wins awards". Star-News. December 31, 1986. p. 2B. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
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- "AP Names Montana MVP". Albuquerque Journal. Associated Press. January 3, 1990. p. 17. Retrieved February 1, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
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- "Tomlinson is voted most valuable player". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. January 5, 2007. Retrieved February 2, 2017.
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- "Aaron Rodgers wins second MVP at NFL's annual awards program". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. January 31, 2015. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
- Maske, Mark (February 6, 2016). "Cam Newton named NFL's MVP on eve of Super Bowl appearance". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
- "Falcons' Matt Ryan Is Named M.V.P. of N.F.L." The New York Times. Associated Press. February 4, 2017. Retrieved February 5, 2017.
- "Brady, at 40, oldest ever to win league MVP". ESPN.com. February 4, 2018. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
- "Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes named 2018 NFL MVP". NFL.com.
- "Ravens QB Lamar Jackson named 2019 NFL MVP". NFL.com.
- Shook, Nick (February 6, 2021). "Packers QB Aaron Rodgers named 2020 AP NFL Most Valuable Player". NFL.com. Retrieved February 6, 2021.
- Shook, Nick (February 10, 2022). "Packers QB Aaron Rodgers named 2021 AP NFL MVP". NFL.com. Retrieved February 10, 2022.