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SUPER BOWL LVI

Who are the Super Bowl MVPs throughout history?

The Tampa Bay Buccaneer's Tom Brady won the MVP at Super Bowl LV as he threw four touchdowns for a thumping 31-9 win against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Update:
FILE PHOTO: New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) celebrates his team's win over the Seattle Seahawks in the NFL Super Bowl XLIX football game in Glendale, Arizona February 1, 2015. REUTERS/Brian Snyder/File Photo
Brian SnyderREUTERS

Tom Brady was named MVP for the fifth time in 2021, as he led the Buccaneers to their second Super Bowl, comprehensively beating the Kansas City Chiefs 31-9. Brady threw four touchdowns as he consolidated his position as Greatest of All Time, and very pointedly did not hand the torch on to Patrick Mahomes, the Chiefs' quarterback, who was widely favored to be this match's MVP.

Now, it's been announced that Brady is retiring. So who will be the MVP of the 2021 Super Bowl at the SoFi stadium where the Cincinnati Bengals will take on the Los Angeles Rams.

Most Valuable Players: all-time records

Most Valuable Player in a Super Bowl is the outstanding individual award available for an American footballer; over the course of the 54 Super Bowls, 47 players have been named MVP, with five players being named more than once.

If you want to be named MVP in a Super Bowl it helps to be a quarterback. A lot. More than half of the MVPs in the Super Bowl's history have been QBs, 30 out of the 47, with all the players who have been named more than once being quarterbacks.

Last year's MVP too was a quarterback, none other than Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs, who picked up the award at Super Bowl LIV, in their win over the San Francisco 49ers.

Super Bowl LV news:

Tonight at Super Bowl LV, Mahomes was looking to repeat both last year's Super Bowl triumph and his MVP title in Sunday's Super Bowl LV, but he came up against Tom Brady, the legendary quarterback, appearing in his 10th Super Bowl - his first since his move last summer to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Brady has now been named MPV on five occasions:
Super Bowl XXXVI vs St Louis Rams (Patriots won 20-17)
Super Bowl XXXVIII vs Carolina Panthers (Patriots won 32-29)
Super Bowl XLIX vs Seattle Seahawks (Patriots won 28-24)
Super Bowl LI vs Atlanta Falcons (Patriots won in OT 34-28).
Super Bowl LV vs Kansas City Chiefs (Buccaneers won 31-9).

Brady also won the Super Bowl twice more, where he was not named MVP:
Super Bowl XXXIX vs Philadelphia Eagles, won by the Patriots 24-21, with wide receiver Deion Brach being named MVP for his 133 receiving yards and 11 catches, a Super Bowl record and,
Super Bowl LIII vs Los Angeles Rams, won by the Patriots 13-3, with wide receiver Julian Edelman being named MVP for his 141 receiving yards.

Super Bowl LV MVP odds

As usual the two quarterbacks were the favourites to be named MVP at Super Bowl LV, but notably Patrick Mahomes was a clear favourite. He was quoted at -120, while Tom Brady was next up, back at +200.

Outside the quarterbacks, the Kansas City Chiefs' tight end Travis Kelce was at +1,100, and his teammate, wide receiver Tyreek Hill was also at +1,100. Tampa's Leonard Fournette was fifth on the favourites list, with the running back at +3,000. He ran in one touchdown, but never looked like knocking Brady off his perch.

Buccaneers MVPs

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have had one previous Super Bowl MVP, in their only win, in 2003 at Super Bowl XXXVII, with safety Dexter Jackson taking the trophy. He grabbed two interceptions and returned them for 34 yards, and is only the second safety to be named Super Bowl MVP.

Chiefs MVPs

The Kansas City Chiefs have had two previous Super Bowl MVPs; last year's award going to Patrick Mahomes, and back in 1969 at Super Bowl IV when quarterback Len Dawson was awarded the trophy for his performance in the Chiefs' 23-7 win over the Minnesota Vikings.

MVPs on the losing side

Only one player has been named Super Bowl MVP from the losing team: Chuck Howley, in the Cowboy's 16-13 defeat to the Baltimore Colts. He recorded two interceptions but the decision was widely felt to be an odd one, with the Colts' tight end John Mackey recording two catches for 80 yards, including a 75-yard touchdown in the second quarter.

Most times named MVP

Tom Brady, as noted above, tops the list with five Super Bowl MVP Trophies. He's followed by four other quarterbacks who have recorded two or more:

Joe Montana, San Francisco 49ers: 3 (XVI, XIX, XXIV)
Terry Bradshaw, Pittsburgh Steelers: 2 (XIII, XIV)
Eli Manning, New York Giants: 2 (XLIII, XLVI)
Bart Starr, Green Bay Packers: 2 (I, II)

MVPs by position

Quarterback: 30
Running back: 7
Wide receiver: 7
Linebacker: 4
Defensive end: 2
Safety: 2
Cornerback: 1
Defensive tackle: 1
Kick returner: 1 (Desmond Howard, who returned a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown and celebrated by dancing the robot)

Joint MVP Trophies

On one occasion the MVP was awarded jointly, in Super Bowl XII, when the Dallas Cowboys' Harvey Martin (defensive end) and Randy White (defensive tackle) picked up the trophy.

Full list of Super Bowl MVPs

Super Bowl I — QB Bart Starr, Green Bay

Super Bowl II — QB Bart Starr, Green Bay

Super Bowl III — QB Joe Namath, N.Y. Jets

Super Bowl IV — QB Len Dawson, Kansas City

Super Bowl V — LB Chuck Howley, Dallas

Super Bowl VI — QB Roger Staubach, Dallas

Super Bowl VII — S Jake Scott, Miami

Super Bowl VIII — RB Larry Csonka, Miami

Super Bowl IX — RB Franco Harris, Pittsburgh

Super Bowl X — WR Lynn Swann, Pittsburgh

Super Bowl XI — WR Fred Biletnikoff, Oakland

Super Bowl XII — DT Randy White and DE Harvey Martin, Dallas

Super Bowl XIII — QB Terry Bradshaw, Pittsburgh

Super Bowl XIV — QB Terry Bradshaw, Pittsburgh

Super Bowl XV — QB Jim Plunkett, Oakland

Super Bowl XVI — QB Joe Montana, San Francisco

Super Bowl XVII — RB John Riggins, Washington

Super Bowl XVIII — RB Marcus Allen, L.A. Raiders

Super Bowl XIX — QB Joe Montana, San Francisco

Super Bowl XX — DE Richard Dent, Chicago

Super Bowl XXI — QB Phil Simms, N.Y. Giants

Super Bowl XXII — QB Doug Williams, Washington

Super Bowl XXIII — WR Jerry Rice, San Francisco

Super Bowl XXIV — QB Joe Montana, San Francisco

Super Bowl XXV — RB Ottis Anderson, N.Y. Giants

Super Bowl XXVI — QB Mark Rypien, Washington

Super Bowl XXVII — QB Troy Aikman, Dallas

Super Bowl XXVIII — RB Emmitt Smith, Dallas

Super Bowl XXIX — QB Steve Young, San Francisco

Super Bowl XXX — CB Larry Brown, Dallas

Super Bowl XXXI — KR-PR Desmond Howard, Green Bay

Super Bowl XXXII — RB Terrell Davis, Denver

Super Bowl XXXIII — QB John Elway, Denver

Super Bowl XXXIV — QB Kurt Warner, St. Louis

Super Bowl XXXV — LB Ray Lewis, Baltimore

Super Bowl XXXVI — QB Tom Brady, New England

Super Bowl XXXVII — S Dexter Jackson, Tampa Bay

Super Bowl XXXVIII — QB Tom Brady, New England

Super Bowl XXXIX — WR Deion Branch, New England

Super Bowl XL — WR Hines Ward, Pittsburgh

Super Bowl XLI — QB Peyton Manning, Indianapolis

Super Bowl XLII — QB Eli Manning, N.Y. Giants

Super Bowl XLIII — WR Santonio Holmes, Pittsburgh

Super Bowl XLIV — QB Drew Brees, New Orleans

Super Bowl XLV — QB Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay

Super Bowl XLVI — QB Eli Manning, N.Y. Giants

Super Bowl XLVII — QB Joe Flacco, Baltimore

Super Bowl XLVIII — LB Malcolm Smith, Seattle

Super Bowl XLIX — QB Tom Brady, New England

Super Bowl 50 — LB Von Miller, Denver

Super Bowl LI — QB Tom Brady, New England

Super Bowl LII — QB Nick Foles, Philadelphia

Super Bowl LIII — WR Julian Edelman, New England

Super Bowl LIV — QB Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City

Super Bowl LV - QB Tom Brady, Tampa Bay Buccaneers