SUPER BOWL LVIII
Who are the Super Bowl MVPs throughout history?
Quarterbacks Mahomes and Purdy will be eyeing the award but there will be other Chiefs and 49ers looking to be the star of the biggest NFL show.
Most Valuable Player in a Super Bowl is the outstanding individual award available for a footballer in the big game. Over the course of the 57 Super Bowls, 47 players have been named MVP, with six 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.
Significantly more than half of the MVPs in the Super Bowl’s history have been QBs, 32 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 also picked up the award at Super Bowl LIV, in their win over, wait for it, the San Francisco 49ers.
This year’s Super Bowl LVIII will see Mahomes look to make it three, and go level with Joe Montana who is only second to Tom Brady, with the legendary quarterback having picked up the award on five separate occasions.
Graphic provided by our friends at Sofascore.
When did record-breaking Tom Brady win Super Bowl MPV?
Brady also won the Super Bowl twice more, although on those occasions he was not named MVP:
49ers previous MVPs
The team from the Bay has contributed five winners of the Super Bowl MVP since 1967. These came in the XVI, XIX, XXIII, XXIV and XXIX editions, with Joe Montana (3), Jerry Rice and Steve Young getting the plaudits.
Chiefs previous MVPs
Aside from Mahomes, there is one other Chiefs player who was named Super Bowl MVP. Back in 1969 at Super Bowl IV, 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:
MVPs by position
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.
MVPs by team
Full list of Super Bowl MVPs
As we prepare for the 2024 Super Bowl between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers on Sunday 11 February, eyes will be focused on those players that really stand out, almost certainly - unless following in the footsteps of Chuck Howley - leading their team to Vince Lombardi glory.