Super Bowl MVP voting: how does the vote work?

Once again, for the third time in the last five years, the Kansas City Chiefs are Super Bowl winners. The Chiefs are now a dynasty and quarterback Patrick Mahomes is firmly in the conversation as one of the finest players in NFL history.

At Super Bowl LVIII Mahomes picked up his third Super Bowl MVP award, dragging his team back from the brink after struggling to dictate the game in the first quarter. Mahomes, still only 28, showed up when it mattered and ended the game with a total throwing distance of 333 yards and 34 out of 49 passes completed.

Sunday’s game was just the second in Super Bowl history to be decided on overtime and it was no surprise to see that Mahomes was the difference-maker. After the game he spoke about the winning mentality that this Chiefs team posses.

“Our mindset was: Go win the game right here,” Mahomes said. “Once we got that ball -- we fell short in regulation, we’re not going to do that again. We’re going to go out there and win the game.”

How is the Super Bowl MVP decided?

The Super Bowl MVP is the most illustrious of the NFL’s individual awards and truly is the peak for a professional player. Each year the MVP award is decided by a mixture of media member and supporters, with the former receiving a heavy weighting.

A panel of 16 writers and broadcasters contribute 80% of the total vote; NFL fans account for the remaining 20%.

Votes are cast immediately after the fulltime whistle and the winner must come from the victorious team. As such the Super Bowl MVP tends to be awarded to the winning side’s quarterback, as has been the case on 33 of 58 Super Bowls.

Graphic provided by our friends at Sofascore.

Only once in history has a player from the lowing team been named MVP. At Super Bowl V Chuck Howley, a linebacker for the Dallas Cowboys, won the award after recording two interceptions and a fumble recovery in a defeat to the Baltimore Colts.

This latest success is further proof of Mahomes’ generational brilliance. This third MVP title puts him second on the all-time list, level with Joe Montana. Only Tom Brady, with a frankly ridiculous five MVP titles, has won the award more times than Mahomes.

In the postmatch Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce paid tribute to Mahomes: “I guess at this point, I take it for granted. But I know we’re in every single game I’ve ever played in with him, no matter what the score is, no matter how much time is left.”