When part of an American football team, one of the greatest rewards a player can get is being designated MVP. In the NFL, the Most Valuable Player award is given to the player who had the most impact in a regular season of play. Naturally, this tends to be the star QB for the winning team or another member of that team’s offense.
What is an NFL MVP?
Generally, the MVP is the best player on the field at any given moment. The NFL MVP award seeks to highlight the best player across the entire playing season. To do that, the awarding organizations need to look at every player’s performance and accolades. Any broken record ties directly into who gets MVP status.
If you’re part of the betting crowd, following NFL MVP odds will tell you who the most competitive player in the league is, if you didn’t already know. Bettors on the wrong side of an MVP are taking on long odds, more often than not. Besides avoiding betting against the MVP like some bettors do, you may wish to minimize loss using our BetVictor safe and responsible gambling support if needed.
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Who has the most NFL MVPs?
Peyton Manning claims the title for most NFL MVP awards with a total of 5. Here’s the full list:
- Peyton Manning – 5 MVPs.
- Aaron Rodgers – 4.
- Tom Brady – 3.
- Jim Brown – 3.
- Brett Farve – 3.
- Johnny Unitas – 3.
- Patrick Mahomes – 2.
- Joe Montana – 2.
The NFL MVP List
The list of NFL MVPs takes some explaining. Since 1938, the Joe F. Carr Trophy functioned as the NFL’s MVP award but that ended in 1946. Since then, alternate organizations have awarded MVP, including concurrent and competing MVP awards. Where two or more players were MVP for that year, we have included them all in line with their awarding organizations.
From 1938 to today, the awarding organizations are:
- The Joe F. Carr Trophy
- United Press International (UPI)
- Sporting News
- The Jim Thorpe Trophy
- The Associated Press (AP)
- The Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA)
Since 2009, the AP and the PFWA have been the only MVP awarding organizations and their MVP picks have been the same.
| Year | Name | Organization |
| 1938 | Mel Hein | Joe F. Carr Trophy |
| 1939 | Parker Hall | Joe F. Carr Trophy |
| 1940 | Ace Parker | Joe F. Carr Trophy |
| 1941 | Don Hutson | Joe F. Carr Trophy |
| 1942 | Don Hutson | Joe F. Carr Trophy |
| 1943 | Sid Luckman | Joe F. Carr Trophy |
| 1944 | Frank Sinkwich | Joe F. Carr Trophy |
| 1945 | Bob Waterfield | Joe F. Carr Trophy |
| 1946 | Bill Dudley | Joe F. Carr Trophy |
| 1947 | No MVP awarded this year | |
| 1948 | Pat Harder | UPI |
| 1949 | No MVP awarded this year | |
| 1950 | No MVP awarded this year | |
| 1951 | Otto Graham | UPI |
| 1952 | No MVP awarded this year | |
| 1953 | Otto Graham | UPI |
| 1954 | Lou GrozaJoe Perry | Sporting NewsUPI |
| 1955 | Otto GrahamHarlon Hill | Sporting News & UPIJim Thorpe Trophy |
| 1956 | Frank Gifford | Sporting News, UPI & Jim Thorpe Trophy |
| 1957 | Jim BrownY. A. TittleJohnny Unitas | AP & Sporting NewsUPIJim Thorpe Trophy |
| 1958 | Jim Brown | AP, Sporting News, UPI, Jim Thorpe Trophy |
| 1959 | Johnny UnitasCharlie Conerly | AP, Sporting News & UPIJim Thorpe Trophy |
| 1960 | Norm Van Brocklin | AP, Sporting News, UPI & Jim Thorpe Trophy |
| 1961 | Paul HornungY.A. Tittle | AP, Sporting News & UPIJim Thorpe Trophy |
| 1962 | Jim TaylorY.A. Tittle | AP & Jim Thorpe TrophySporting News & UPI |
| 1963 | Y.A. TittleJim Brown | AP, Sporting News & Jim Thorpe TrophyUPI |
| 1964 | Johnny UnitasLenny Moore | AP, Sporting News & UPIJim Thorpe Trophy |
| 1965 | Jim Brown | AP, Sporting News, UPI & Jim Thorpe Trophy |
| 1966 | Bart Starr | AP, PFWA, Sporting News, UPI & Jim Thorpe Trophy |
| 1967 | Johnny Unitas | AP, Sporting News, UPI & Jim Thorpe Trophy |
| 1968 | Earl Morrall | AP, Sporting News, UPI & Jim Thorpe Trophy |
| 1969 | Roman Gabriel | AP, Sporting News, UPI & Jim Thorpe Trophy |
| 1970 | John Brodie | AP & Jim Thorpe Trophy |
| 1971 | Alan PageBob Griese | APJim Thorpe Trophy |
| 1972 | Larry Brown | AP & Jim Thorpe Trophy |
| 1973 | O.J. Simpson | AP & Jim Thorpe Trophy |
| 1974 | Ken Stabler | AP & Jim Thorpe Trophy |
| 1975 | Fran Tarkenton | AP, PFWA & Jim Thorpe Trophy |
| 1976 | Bert Jones | AP, PFWA & Jim Thorpe Trophy |
| 1977 | Walter Payton | AP, PFWA & Jim Thorpe Trophy |
| 1978 | Terry BradshawEarl Campbell | APPFWA & Jim Thorpe Trophy |
| 1979 | Earl Campbell | AP, PFWA & Jim Thorpe Trophy |
| 1980 | Brian SipeEarl Campbell | AP, PFWA & Sporting NewsJim Thorpe Trophy |
| 1981 | Ken Anderson | AP, PFWA, Sporting News & Jim Thorpe Trophy |
| 1982 | Mark MoseleyDan Fouts | AP & Sporting NewsPFWA & Jim Thorpe Trophy |
| 1983 | Joe TheismannEric Dickerson | AP, PFWA & Jim Thorpe TrophySporting News |
| 1984 | Dan Marino | AP, PFWA, Sporting News & Jim Thorpe Trophy |
| 1985 | Marcus AllenWalter Payton | AP, PFWA & Sporting NewsJim Thorpe Trophy |
| 1986 | Lawrence TaylorPhil Simms | AP, PFWA & Sporting NewsJim Thorpe Trophy |
| 1987 | John ElwayJerry Rice | APPFWA, Sporting News & Jim Thorpe Trophy |
| 1988 | Boomer EsiasonRoger Craig | AP, PFWA & Sporting NewsJim Thorpe Trophy |
| 1989 | Joe Montana | AP, PFWA, Sporting News & Jim Thorpe Trophy |
| 1990 | Joe MontanaRandall CunninghamJerry RiceWarren Moon | APPFWASporting NewsJim Thorpe Trophy |
| 1991 | Thurman Thomas | AP, PFWA, Sporting News & Jim Thorpe Trophy |
| 1992 | Steve YoungEmmitt Smith | AP, PFWA & Sporting NewsJim Thorpe Trophy |
| 1993 | Emmitt Smith | AP, PFWA, Sporting News & Jim Thorpe Trophy |
| 1994 | Steve Young | AP, PFWA, Sporting News & Jim Thorpe Trophy |
| 1995 | Brett Favre | AP, PFWA, Sporting News & Jim Thorpe Trophy |
| 1996 | Brett Favre | AP, PFWA, Sporting News & Jim Thorpe Trophy |
| 1997 | Barry Sanders | AP, PFWA, Sporting News & Jim Thorpe Trophy |
| 1998 | Terrell DavisRandall Cunningham | AP, PFWA & Sporting NewsJim Thorpe Trophy |
| 1999 | Kurt Warner | AP, PFWA, Sporting News & Jim Thorpe Trophy |
| 2000 | Marshall Faulk | AP, PFWA, Sporting News & Jim Thorpe Trophy |
| 2001 | Kurt WarnerMarshall Faulk | AP & Jim Thorpe TrophyPFWA & Sporting News |
| 2002 | Rich Gannon | AP, PFWA, Sporting News & Jim Thorpe Trophy |
| 2003 | Peyton ManningJamal Lewis | AP, Sporting News & Jim Thorpe TrophyPFWA |
| 2004 | Peyton Manning | AP, PFWA, Sporting News & Jim Thorpe Trophy |
| 2005 | Shaun Alexander | AP, PFWA, Sporting News & Jim Thorpe Trophy |
| 2006 | LaDainian Tomlinson | AP, PFWA, Sporting News & Jim Thorpe Trophy |
| 2007 | Tom Brady | AP, PFWA, Sporting News & Jim Thorpe Trophy |
| 2008 | Peyton ManningKurt Warner | AP & PFWAJim Thorpe Trophy |
| 2009 | Peyton Manning | AP & PFWA |
| 2010 | Tom Brady | AP & PFWA |
| 2011 | Aaron Rodgers | AP & PFWA |
| 2012 | Adrian Peterson | AP & PFWA |
| 2013 | Peyton Manning | AP & PFWA |
| 2014 | Aaron Rodgers | AP & PFWA |
| 2015 | Cam Newton | AP & PFWA |
| 2016 | Matt Ryan | AP & PFWA |
| 2017 | Tom Brady | AP & PFWA |
| 2018 | Patrick Mahomes | AP & PFWA |
| 2019 | Lamar Jackson | AP & PFWA |
| 2020 | Aaron Rodgers | AP & PFWA |
| 2021 | Aaron Rodgers | AP & PFWA |
| 2022 | Patrick Mahomes | AP & PFWA |