While winning the Super Bowl is a team achievement, there is also an individual who gets to hold a trophy up on the championship podium. Super Bowl MVP is one of the most esteemed honors in football, and there have been 61 winners over the past 60 years. Let’s look at the available positional data leading following the Seattle Seahawks’ blowout win over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LX.
How often has each position won Super Bowl MVP?
A quarterback has earned Super Bowl MVP in 34 of the 60 renditions of the Big Game, which gives them a 56.7% hit rate. Since 2010, though, QBs have won 12 out of 17, or 70.6% of the awards.
Wide receivers win the second-most often, boasting nine Super Bowl MVPs over the years. Five of those wins have come over the last 21 years, effectively slotting a wide receiver in as Super Bowl MVP once every four years. The last time a wideout took home the honor was Cooper Kupp with the Los Angeles Rams in 2022. The Patriots’ most recent Super Bowl MVP is a receiver as well, with Julian Edelman winning it in 2019. New England also had Deion Branch secure the hardware in 2005. Jaxon Smith-Njigba is a contender to follow in their footsteps, not to mention Kupp’s opportunity to repeat.
Five running backs have won Super Bowl MVP, with Kenneth Walker III becoming the first since Terrell Davis in 1998. Linebackers have won four, most recently in 2001, 2014 and 2016. The Seahawks’ lone Super Bowl MVP prior to Walker was Malcolm Smith, who had a pick-six and a fumble recovery against the record-setting Broncos offense.
There has been one instance of the Super Bowl MVP going to two players – Dallas Cowboys defensive linemen Harvey Martin and Randy White – but it hasn’t happened since 1978. The last time someone other than a quarterback, wide receiver or linebacker won Super Bowl MVP was in 2003, when it went to Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety Dexter Jackson.
Here is a breakdown of the full position-by-position tally:
QB: 34
WR: 9
RB: 5
LB: 4
FB: 3
S: 2
DE: 2
DL: 1
CB: 1
Super Bowl MVP Odds
- QB Sam Darnold, SEA (+120)
- QB Drake Maye, NE (+240)
- WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba, SEA (+500)
- RB Kenneth Walker III, SEA (+850)
- RB Rhamondre Stevenson, NE (+2800)
- WR/KR/PR Rashid Shaheed, SEA (+3000)
- WR Stefon Diggs, NE (+5000)
- CB/KR/PR Marcus Jones, NE (+6000)
- RB TreVeyon Henderson, SEA (+7500)
- S Nick Emmanwori, SEA (+8000)
- WR Cooper Kupp, SEA (+9000)
Year-by-Year Super Bowl MVP History
1967: QB Bart Starr, Green Bay Packers
1968: QB Bart Starr, Green Bay Packers
1969: QB Joe Namath, New York Jets
1970: QB Len Dawson, Kansas City Chiefs
1971: LB Chuck Howley, Dallas Cowboys
1972: QB Roger Staubach, Dallas Cowboys
1973: S Jake Scott, Miami Dolphins
1974: FB Larry Csonka, Miami Dolphins
1975: FB Franco Harris, Pittsburgh Steelers
1976: WR Lynn Swann, Pittsburgh Steelers
1977: WR Fred Biletnikoff, Oakland Raiders
1978: DE Harvey Martin / DL Randy White, Dallas Cowboys
1979: QB Terry Bradshaw, Pittsburgh Steelers
1980: QB Terry Bradshaw, Pittsburgh Steelers
1981: QB Jim Plunkett, Oakland Raiders
1982: QB Joe Montana, San Francisco 49ers
1983: FB John Riggins, Washington Redskins
1984: RB Marcus Allen, Los Angeles Raiders
1985: QB Joe Montana, San Francisco 49ers
1986: DE Richard Dent, Chicago Bears
1987: QB Phil Simms, New York Giants
1988: QB Doug Williams, Washington Redskins
1989: WR Jerry Rice, San Francisco 49ers
1990: QB Joe Montana, San Francisco 49ers
1991: RB Ottis Anderson, New York Giants
1992: QB Mark Rypien, Washington Redskins
1993: QB Troy Aikman, Dallas Cowboys
1994: RB Emmitt Smith, Dallas Cowboys
1995: QB Steve Young, San Francisco 49ers
1996: CB Larry Brown, Dallas Cowboys
1997: WR Desmond Howard, Green Bay Packers
1998: RB Terrell Davis, Denver Broncos
1999: QB John Elway, Denver Broncos
2000: QB Kurt Warner, St. Louis Rams
2001: LB Ray Lewis, Baltimore Ravens
2002: QB Tom Brady, New England Patriots
2003: S Dexter Jackson, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
2004: QB Tom Brady, New England Patriots
2005: WR Deion Branch, New England Patriots
2006: WR Hines Ward, Pittsburgh Steelers
2007: QB Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts
2008: QB Eli Manning, New York Giants
2009: WR Santonio Holmes, Pittsburgh Steelers
2010: QB Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints
2011: QB Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers
2012: QB Eli Manning, New York Giants
2013: QB Joe Flacco, Baltimore Ravens
2014: LB Malcolm Smith, Seattle Seahawks
2015: QB Tom Brady, New England Patriots
2016: LB Von Miller, Denver Broncos
2017: QB Tom Brady, New England Patriots
2018: QB Nick Foles, Philadelphia Eagles
2019: WR Julian Edelman, New England Patriots
2020: QB Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
2021: QB Tom Brady, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
2022: WR Cooper Kupp, Los Angeles Rams
2023: QB Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
2024: QB Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
2025: QB Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles
2026: RB Kenneth Walker III, Seattle Seahawks
