Thirty-four. That is how many of the 60 Super Bowls have given their MVP award to a quarterback.
The MVP, most valuable player, goes to the standout of the game. A panel of media voters decides it, with fans now getting a small say from the fourth quarter onwards. In theory the trophy can go to any player on the field. In practice it goes to the one taking the snap.
Quarterback stats don’t lie
Here is every position that has won it across all sixty games.
| Position | Times won |
|---|---|
| Quarterback | 34 |
| Wide receiver | 9 |
| Running back (including fullback) | 8 |
| Linebacker | 4 |
| Defensive lineman | 3 |
| Safety | 2 |
| Cornerback | 1 |
Source: Pro Football Reference, Super Bowl MVP list; counts recomputed across all 60 games. The total comes to 61 because Dallas shared the award between two players in 1978. Outlets differ by a name or two on whether a player was a running back or a fullback, but the shape does not move.
Quarterbacks have won it more times than every other position on the field put together. That is the whole argument in one line.
And the MVP award is not getting wider
If anything the tilt has got steeper. Since 2010, quarterbacks have won 12 of the last 17. That is just over seven in every ten.
The game has leaned harder on passing over the same stretch, and the award has followed the ball.
The exceptions are rare enough to name
A running back had not won the MVP since Terrell Davis in 1998. Then Kenneth Walker III ran Seattle past New England in February and broke a gap of 28 years.
A defensive player has not won it since Von Miller in 2016. When the trophy leaves the quarterback at all, it tends to make headlines precisely because it so seldom does.
So why the Quarterback, and it’s not a consipracy
This doesn’t mean that voters are lazy. The quarterback touches the ball on nearly every offensive play, so the yards, the touchdowns and the shape of the game will naturally centre around him. If you vote for the biggest stat line, then you are usually voting for a quarterback. If you want to see why those numbers pile up where they do, what quarterback stats actually measure is the place to start. And if you think this award skews, the league’s season-long MVP is an even tighter quarterback lock.
My honest take is this. The Super Bowl MVP is trying to name the best player and the most important position in the same breath, and it cannot fully tell them apart. Kenneth Walker III is the rare year it managed to.
For the full list of winners and the records around the award, see Super Bowl records.
Leave a Reply