NFL MVP Winners list: The National Football League Most Valuable Player (MVP) is an award given by various media outlets to the most valuable player in the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC), as selected by a panel of sportswriters. The winner receives the Vince Lombardi Trophy, which is named after former Green Bay Packers head coach Vince Lombardi. The media-generated award has been presented by the NFL since 1957, and Tom Brady has been the most recent recipient of the honor.
In the past, the award was presented by news organizations such as United Press International (UPI) and the now-defunct New York Daily Mirror. Between 1998 and 2009, the award was presented by the NFL Network. In 2010, it was again presented by various media outlets. The 2012 and 2013 award winners were announced on January 9, 2014, and J. J. Watt became the first defensive player to win the award in back-to-back years.
The Associated Press (AP), PFWA, and SN have been the most consistent in their MVP voting, with all three awarding the honor to the same player in 17 of the past 19 years (2001-2019). The AP has presented the award 46 times, while the PFWA has done so 21 times. The SN has honored 28 different players with the MVP award. Brady has been the only player to receive the honor from all three organizations.
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The NFL’s MVP award has been criticized in the past for primarily honoring offensive players, as well as Quarterbacks in particular. In recent years, however, there has been a trend towards voting for more versatile and complete players, such as Watt and Aaron Rodgers. There are no set criteria for what constitutes an “MVP-worthy” season, and the award is often given to the best player on the league’s best team. This has led to some debates over who is more deserving of the honor in a given year.
NFL MVP winners from 1957 to 2021.
1957 – Jim Brown, Cleveland Browns
1958 – Jim Brown, Cleveland Browns
1959 – Johnny Unitas, Baltimore Colts
1960 – Norm Van Brocklin, Philadelphia Eagles
1961 – Paul Hornung, Green Bay Packers
1962 – Jim Taylor, Green Bay Packers
1963 – Y. A. Tittle, New York Giants
1964 – Johnny Unitas, Baltimore Colts
1965 – Jim Brown, Cleveland Browns
1966 – Bart Starr, Green Bay Packers
1967 – Johnny Unitas, Baltimore Colts
1968 – Earl Morrall, Baltimore Colts
1969 – Roman Gabriel, Los Angeles Rams
1970 – John Brodie, San Francisco 49ers
1971 – Alan Page, Minnesota Vikings
1972 – Larry Brown, Washington Redskins
1973 – O. J. Simpson, Buffalo Bills
1974 – Ken Stabler, Oakland Raiders
1975 – Fran Tarkenton, Minnesota Vikings
1976 – Bert Jones, Baltimore Colts
1977 – Walter Payton, Chicago Bears
1978 – Terry Bradshaw, Pittsburgh Steelers
1979 – Earl Campbell, Houston Oilers
1980 – Brian Sipe, Cleveland Browns
1981 – Ken Anderson, Cincinnati Bengals
1982 – Mark Moseley, Washington Redskins
1983 – Joe Theismann, Washington Redskins
1984 – Dan Marino, Miami Dolphins
1985 – Marcus Allen, Los Angeles Raiders
1986 – Lawrence Taylor, New York Giants
1987 – John Elway, Denver Broncos
1988 – Boomer Esiason, Cincinnati Bengals
1989 – Joe Montana, San Francisco 49ers
1990 – Joe Montana, San Francisco 49ers
1991 – Thurman Thomas, Buffalo Bills
1992 – Steve Young, San Francisco 49ers
1993 – Emmitt Smith, Dallas Cowboys
1994 – Steve Young, San Francisco 49ers
1995 – Brett Favre, Green Bay Packers
1996 – Brett Favre, Green Bay Packers
1997 – Barry Sanders, Detroit Lions
1997 – Brett Favre, Green Bay Packers
1998 – Terrell Davis, Denver Broncos
1999 – Kurt Warner, St. Louis Rams
2000 – Marshall Faulk, St. Louis Rams
2001 – Kurt Warner, St. Louis Rams
2002 – Rich Gannon, Oakland Raiders
2003 – Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts
2003 – Steve McNair, Tennessee Titans
2004 – Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts
2005 – Shaun Alexander, Seattle Seahawks
2006 – LaDainian Tomlinson, San Diego Chargers
2007 – Tom Brady, New England Patriots
2008 – Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts
2009 – Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts
2010 – Tom Brady, New England Patriots
2011 – Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers
2012 – Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings
2013 – Peyton Manning, Denver Broncos
201 4– Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers
201 5– Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers
2016 – Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons
2017 – Tom Brady, New England Patriots
2018 – Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
2019 – Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens
2020 – Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers
2021 – Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers