Super Bowl MVP History And Previous Winners

In the eyes of the NFL, the regular season is very much the proving ground to earn a shot at the league’s top prize, the Super Bowl. While being named the NFL MVP is an honour, proving yourself to be the most influential player in the biggest game on the league’s calendar puts you in another tier entirely.

So, what does it mean to be named the Super Bowl MVP, who decides who’ll become the next Super Bowl Most Valuable Player, and which players have won the title multiple times?

What is the Super Bowl MVP?

The Super Bowl MVP or Super Bowl Most Valuable Player is an award given to the player who voters judge to be the best player in just the Super Bowl game.

Even if the player didn’t feature particularly heavily for a Super Bowl team during the regular season, if their team wins and they perform in a manner deemed to be outstanding or very influential, they could become a Super Bowl MVP.

It’s an award that’s exclusive to the grand finale of the NFL season. So, unlike the NFL MVP award – which is available in the betting throughout the regular season – the oddsmakers need to wait for the final two teams to be decided before offering Super Bowl MVP lines.

Who Decides the Super Bowl MVP?

A collection of 16 writers and broadcasters around the NFL are selected to form the media’s Super Bowl Most Valuable Player voting panel, with their ballots counting for 80 per cent of the decision.

The other 20 per cent comes via a fan vote. During the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl, fans can take to the official NFL website or app to vote for who they deem to be the Super Bowl MVP.

For quite some time now, voters have been told that their Super Bowl MVP vote has to go to a player on the winning team. Voters on the media panel are allowed to change their selection after the clock hits triple zero.

What Does the Super Bowl MVP Winner Get?

The Super Bowl MVP winner gets the Pete Rozelle Trophy, which has been awarded to the big game’s most valuable player since Super Bowl XXV in 1991.

For a while, the NFL-awarded trophy would also come with some additional perks. Super Bowl XLIX winner and MVP Tom Brady was given a free car with the trophy in 2015, which he gave to the star of the show, Malcolm Butler.

There isn’t an additional cash prize or extra prize money for being named the Super Bowl Most Valuable Player, but winners of the big game do tend to get six-figure bonuses and a rather expensive Super Bowl ring.

Has a Player on the Losing Team Ever Won the Super Bowl MVP Award?

A player on the losing team has won the Super Bowl MVP award, with that player being Chuck Howley of the Dallas Cowboys.

In 1971 at Super Bowl V, the Cowboys and Baltimore Colts battled it out in a game loaded with errors, but Howley did enough to prove himself the most proficient on the field despite the Colts winning the game.

These days, the media panel voters are pushed to vote for a Super Bowl winner to be crowned the Super Bowl MVP. This is why the NFL odds for the Super Bowl-winning team will weigh into the Super Bowl MVP odds.

Who has Won the Most Super Bowl MVP Awards?

The player with the most Super Bowl MVP awards to date is Tom Brady, who boasts five Pete Rozelle Trophies in his glittering cabinet of NFL accolades.

With the New England Patriots, Brady claimed four Super Bowl MVPs, which came for his performances at Super Bowl XXXVI (2001), XXXVIII (2003), XLIX (2014), and LI (2016).

As the quarterback of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he steered his offence to an all-out ousting of the banged-up Kansas City Chiefs to land his fifth and final Super Bowl MVP award at Super Bowl LV in 2021.

After Brady, it’s Joe Montana and Patrick Mahomes tied for second with three Super Bowl MVP awards, as of the time of writing, followed by Bart Starr, Terry Bradshaw, and Eli Manning with two each.

Showcasing the difference between Super Bowl Most Valuable Player award and the NFL MVP titles, Peyton Manning leads the way with five NFL MVP awards, while Brady is tied for third with three.

Which Team has had the Most Super Bowl MVPs?

The team with the most Super Bowl MVPs essentially comes in as a double statistical anomaly. The Dallas Cowboys not only have the only Super Bowl Most Valuable Player to not be on the winning team, Chuck Howley, but they also have co-MVPs.

At Super Bowl XII in 1978, the league awarded two Super Bowl Most Valuable Player awards, with the honour going to defensive end Harvey Martin and defensive tackle Randy White of the Dallas Cowboys.

That was the first and last time, to date, that players have shared the Super Bowl MVP award and the two were the first defensive linemen to become Super Bowl MVPs.

With the only Super Bowl MVP to be on the losing side and the only co-Super Bowl MVPs, the Cowboys rank atop the Super Bowl MVP standings with seven despite only winning the Lombardi Trophy five times.

Below the Cowboys, it’s the Pittsburgh Steelers and New England Patriots with six Super Bowl MVPs to more traditionally accompany their record-setting tie of six Super Bowls.

Which Position Wins the Most Super Bowl MVP Awards?

Likely the most common guess, the quarterback position has seen the most Super Bowl Most Valuable Player awards. To date, 33 QBs have claimed the coveted prize, with the most recent being Patrick Mahomes at Super Bowl LVIII.

Next, there have been eight go to wide receivers, seven to running backs, four to linebackers, two to defensive ends, two to safeties, one to a cornerback, one to a defensive tackle, and another to a returner.

Who is the Reigning Super Bowl MVP?

As of early 2025, the reigning Super Bowl Most Valuable Player is Patrick Mahomes. The quarterback of the Kansas City Chiefs collected his second in two years and third overall at Super Bowl LVIII.

By landing the Super Bowl MVP awards in 2023 and 2024, Mahomes joined only Terry Bradshaw (1979 and 1980) and Bart Starr (1967 and 1968) as back-to-back Super Bowl Most Valuable Player awards.

Were the Kansas City Chiefs to win Super Bowl LIX and Mahomes be named the Super Bowl MVP again, he’d become the first player to land the prize in three consecutive seasons.