NFL MVPs | ExtraCharts

NFL MVPs by season

INTRODUCTION

In NFL, the MVP (Most Valuable Player) is considered to be the best player of the season. The award has been given by the Associated Press since 1957.

Charts

1. NFL MVPs by Position

2. NFL MVPs by Region of Birth

3. NFL MVPs by Height, Position and Race

4. NFL MVPs by Team and Position

5. NFL MVPs by State of Birth

Table.

6. NFL MVPs by Position, Place of Birth, Height and Racial Group

The regional distribution of origin and most common state of birth of the best players shows how widespread and seriously the sport is played in a particular place since a greater talent pool tends to produce more great players in any sport. The distribution of the award by position shows the importance of each position to a team. In some sports, the strategy of a team revolves around a player in a certain key position. In American football, the quarterback position is such a position. Distribution by race shows both the cultural tendency to play the sport at an early age but also the tendency to play and opportunities to develop in the key quarterback position.

The overwhelming majority of NFL MVPs have been won by Quarterbacks and Running Backs. Quarterbacks have unsurprisingly dominated the NFL MVP awards, taking 68.5% of MVPs. It's the key position in American football and the performance of the Quarterback is usually decisive in the outcome of a game. The great Quarterbacks like Peyton Manning and Tom Brady were key to the success of their teams. However in the early days of NFL, Running Backs were recipients of most MVPs. 4 of the first 6 MVPs were won by Running Backs, two of these by Jim Brown (who won a total of 3). Despite being surpassed by Quarterbacks in MVPs, Running Backs have remained a strong second with 26.9% of total MVPs.

Jim Brown, a running back from Georgia, was the first winner of the MVP in 1957 and won 3 times in total. He remains the only non-quarterback to have won the award multiple times.

Photo by Kahn's Weiners

Players born in the south have been recipients of 50% of NFL MVPs. This reflects the strong tradition of American Football in the south. The origin of southern domination of American football traces back to after the American civil war when the south sought to dominate football to make up for it's loss in the civil war. The southern devotion to college football reflects in it's propensity to produce great players in the NFL. The player with the most MVPs of all time was Peyton Manning who was a quarterback from New Orleans, Louisiana.

Peyton Manning has won the MVP 5 times, more than any other player. He was from New Orleans, Louisiana. Like most MVPs, he played in the quarterback position.

Photo by Mike Morbeck

Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

Johnny Unitas was MVP 3 times. He was the first quarterback to receive the award.

Photo by Malcolm W. Emmons

There used to be less of a distinction between heights of MVPs who were quarterbacks and running backs. Over time, a distinct difference has emerged where quarterbacks tend to be taller than running backs among MVP winners.

White players have received the majority of MVPs. This remains true in recent years even though the majority of players in the NFL are black. The reason for this is that the quarterback position has been historically dominated by white players. The majority of black NFL MVPs have been running backs, the most famous being Jim Brown of the Cleveland Browns who was MVP 3 times. In recent years, black players have become more represented among Quarterbacks. This will likely result in an increasing number of black MVPs in coming years and decades.

The Greenbay Packers have won the most MVPs. Despite being well represented in the 1960s with 3 MVPs, it wasn't until 1995 when they won their 4th. Since then, they have been consistently well represented. The San Francisco 49ers and the Baltimore Colts are in joint second. The Baltimore Colts became the Indianapolis Colts in 1983. If you add MVPs won by the team under different names, they have a total of 8.5 MVPs which is more than the Greenbay packers.

Note: Where two players shared the MVP for the season, each is given 0.5 for the chart.

Brett Favre was the MVP 3 years in a row with the Greenbay Packers, sharing the 3rd one with Barry Sanders.

Photo by Paul Cutler

Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

10 states have produced more than one different MVP. California has produced the most although it is by far the largest state so that is to be expected. New York and Florida are notably absent from this group despite being one of the largest states by population. On a per capita basis, Pennsylvania seems to be the most successful of the major states. Louisiana and Mississippi are also notable given their below average population sizes among states.

Tom Brady has been the MVP 3 times. He was also Super Bowl MVP 4 times, the most of any player. He is one of 7 players from California to have won the award.

Photo by Brian Allen for Voice of America

6. NFL MVPs by Position, Place of Birth, Height and Racial Group

Year	Player	Team	Position	City/town of birth	State of birth	Racial/Ethnic Group	Height
1957	Jim Brown	Cleveland Browns	Running back	St. Simons	Georgia	Black/African	6'2
1958	Jim Brown (2)	Cleveland Browns	Running back	St. Simons	Georgia	Black/African	6'2
1959	Johnny Unitas	Baltimore Colts	Quarterback	Pittsburgh	Pennsylvania	White/European	6'1
1960	Norm Van Brocklin	Philadelphia Eagles	Quarterback	Parade	South Dakota	White/European	6'1
1961	Paul Hornung	Green Bay Packers	Running back	Louisville	Kentucky	White/European	6'2
1962	Jim Taylor	Green Bay Packers	Running back	Baton Rouge	Louisiana	White/European	6'0
1963	Y. A. Tittle	New York Giants	Quarterback	Marshall	Texas	White/European	6'0
1964	Johnny Unitas (2)	Baltimore Colts	Quarterback	Pittsburgh	Pennsylvania	White/European	6'1
1965	Jim Brown (3)	Cleveland Browns	Running back	St. Simons	Georgia	Black/African	6'2
1966	Bart Starr	Green Bay Packers	Quarterback	Montgomery	Alabama	White/European	6'1
1967	Johnny Unitas (3)	Baltimore Colts	Quarterback	Pittsburgh	Pennsylvania	White/European	6'1
1968	Earl Morrall	Baltimore Colts	Quarterback	Muskegon	Michigan	White/European	6'1
1969	Roman Gabriel	Los Angeles Rams	Quarterback	Wilmington	North Carolina	Eurasian	6'5
1970	John Brodie	San Francisco 49ers	Quarterback	Menlo Park	California	White/European	6'1
1971	Alan Page	Minnesota Vikings	Defensive tackle	Canton	Ohio	Black/African	null
1972	Larry Brown	Washington Redskins	Running back	Clairton	Pennsylvania	Black/African	5'11
1973	O. J. Simpson	Buffalo Bills	Running back	San Francisco	California	Black/African	6'1
1974	Ken Stabler	Oakland Raiders	Quarterback	Foley	Alabama	White/European	6'3
1975	Fran Tarkenton	Minnesota Vikings	Quarterback	Richmond	Virginia	White/European	6'0
1976	Bert Jones	Baltimore Colts	Quarterback	Ruston	Louisiana	White/European	6'3
1977	Walter Payton	Chicago Bears	Running back	Columbia	Mississippi	Black/African	5'10
1978	Terry Bradshaw	Pittsburgh Steelers	Quarterback	Shreveport	Louisiana	White/European	6'3
1979	Earl Campbell	Houston Oilers	Running back	Tyler	Texas	Black/African	5'11
1980	Brian Sipe	Cleveland Browns	Quarterback	San Diego	California	White/European	6'1
1981	Ken Anderson	Cincinnati Bengals	Quarterback	Batavia	Illinois	White/European	6'2
1982	Mark Moseley	Washington Redskins	Placekicker	Laneville	Texas	White/European	5'11
1983	Joe Theismann	Washington Redskins	Quarterback	New Brunswick	New Jersey	White/European	6'0
1984	Dan Marino	Miami Dolphins	Quarterback	Pittsburgh	Pennsylvania	White/European	6'4
1985	Marcus Allen	Los Angeles Raiders	Running back	San Diego	California	Black/African	6'2
1986	Lawrence Taylor	New York Giants	Linebacker	Williamsburg	Virginia	Black/African	6'3
1987	John Elway	Denver Broncos	Quarterback	Port Angeles	Washington	White/European	6'3
1988	Boomer Esiason	Cincinnati Bengals	Quarterback	East Islip	New York	White/European	6'5
1989	Joe Montana	San Francisco 49ers	Quarterback	New Eagle	Pennsylvania	White/European	6'2
1990	Joe Montana (2)	San Francisco 49ers	Quarterback	New Eagle	Pennsylvania	White/European	6'2
1991	Thurman Thomas	Buffalo Bills	Running back	Houston	Texas	Black/African	5'10
1992	Steve Young	San Francisco 49ers	Quarterback	Salt Lake City	Utah	White/European	6'2
1993	Emmitt Smith	Dallas Cowboys	Running back	Pensacola	Flordia	Black/African	5'09
1994	Steve Young (2)	San Francisco 49ers	Quarterback	Salt Lake City	Utah	White/European	6'2
1995	Brett Favre	Green Bay Packers	Quarterback	Gulfport	Mississippi	White/European	6'2
1996	Brett Favre (2)	Green Bay Packers	Quarterback	Gulfport	Mississippi	White/European	6'2
1997	Brett Favre (3) Barry Sanders	Green Bay Packers Detroit Lions	Quarterback Running back	null	null	null	null
1998	Terrell Davis	Denver Broncos	Running back	San Diego	California	Black/African	5'11
1999	Kurt Warner	St. Louis Rams	Quarterback	Burlington	Iowa	White/European	6'2
2000	Marshall Faulk	St. Louis Rams	Running back	New Orleans	Louisiana	Black/African	5'10
2001	Kurt Warner (2)	St. Louis Rams	Quarterback	Burlington	Iowa	White/European	6'2
2002	Rich Gannon	Oakland Raiders	Quarterback	Philadelphia	Pennsylvania	White/European	6'3
2003	Peyton Manning Steve McNair	Indianapolis Colts Tennessee Titans	Quarterback Quarterback	null	null	null	null
2004	Peyton Manning (2)	Indianapolis Colts	Quarterback	New Orleans	Louisiana	White/European	6'5
2005	Shaun Alexander	Seattle Seahawks	Running back	Florence	Kentucky	Black/African	5'11
2006	LaDainian Tomlinson	San Diego Chargers	Running back	Rosebud	Texas	Black/African	5'10
2007	Tom Brady	New England Patriots	Quarterback	San Mateo	California	White/European	6'4
2008	Peyton Manning (3)	Indianapolis Colts	Quarterback	New Orleans	Louisiana	White/European	6'5
2009	Peyton Manning (4)	Indianapolis Colts	Quarterback	New Orleans	Louisiana	White/European	6'5
2010	Tom Brady (2)	New England Patriots	Quarterback	San Mateo	California	White/European	6'4
2011	Aaron Rodgers	Green Bay Packers	Quarterback	Chico	California	White/European	6'2
2012	Adrian Peterson	Minnesota Vikings	Running back	Palestine	Texas	Black/African	6'1
2013	Peyton Manning (5)	Denver Broncos	Quarterback	New Orleans	Louisiana	White/European	6'5
2014	Aaron Rodgers (2)	Green Bay Packers	Quarterback	Chico	California	White/European	6'2
2015	Cam Newton	Carolina Panthers	Quarterback	Atlanta	Georgia	Black/African	6'5
2016	Matt Ryan	Atlanta Falcons	Quarterback	Exton	Pennsylvania	White/European	6'4
2017	Tom Brady (3)	New England Patriots	Quarterback	San Mateo	California	White/European	6'4
2018	Patrick Mahomes	Kansas City Chiefs	Quarterback	Tyler	Texas	Mulatto	6'3
2019	Lamar Jackson	Baltimore Ravens	Quarterback	Pompano Beach	Florida	Black/African	6'2
2020	Aaron Rodgers (3)	Greenbay Packers	Quarterback	Chico	California	White/European	6'2
2021	Aaron Rodgers (4)	Greenbay Packers	Quarterback	Chico	California	White/European	6'2