Quarterbacks always find themselves at the top of Super Bowl MVP odds boards and this year is no exception. The Bengals’ Joe Burrow and the Rams’ Matthew Stafford are the favorites to take home one of the NFL’s most prestigious awards.
Update: Rams WR Cooper Kupp was named Super Bowl LVI MVP. Kupp was +600 to win the award just prior to the game at DraftKings Sportsbook.
BetMGM March Madness Special Offer! Bet $10 on a moneyline and win $200 if either team makes a 3-pointer!
Super Bowl MVP odds
Check out odds to win Super Bowl MVP below as the Bengals face the Rams in the 56th edition of the Big Game.
Voted on by a panel of 16 sportswriters, the MVP award has been given to the player who has the biggest impact on the outcome of football’s biggest annual game. Since 2001, electronic fan voting has accounted for 20 percent of the vote with the media panel accounting for 80 percent of the vote.
Favorites and longshots
Here we will look at the Super Bowl MVP favorites and the longshots to win the award.
Favorites
Matthew Stafford (): The Rams were getting +200 odds to win it all before the NFC Championship game and the Bengals have been the biggest underdog left in these playoffs since the Divisional Round. So it follows logic that Stafford is the favorite to win Super Bowl MVP with his team favored by 4 points and getting nearly -200 odds on the moneyline. Stafford posted a 21:6 TD:INT ratio with a 107.7 passer rating at home this season and he’s completing 71% of his passes for 269.5 YPG over two home starts in these playoffs.
Joe Burrow (): Calm, cool, and collected, Burrow hasn’t sputtered on the road much during the second half of the regular season and throughout the postseason. His Bengals are 8-2 straight up on the road and 6-1 against the spread when listed as road underdogs. Burrow will have to carry the load in the Super Bowl considering the Rams are yielding just 54 rushing YPG at a 3.2 YPC clip this postseason.
Cooper Kupp (): The unofficial MVP of the NFC Championship, Kupp set a new record by topping 100 receiving yards for the 13th time this season while posting an 11-142-2TD line to carry his squad in a comeback victory over the 49ers. He draws another tough matchup in the Super Bowl against Cincinnati’s surging secondary, but no team has truly contained Kupp this season.
Longshots
Aaron Donald (): The primary reason the Rams are only giving up 54 rushing YPG in these playoffs, Donald should have his fingerprints all over the Super Bowl regardless of the result. He was a monster in 2019 when the Rams and Patriots battled to a 3-3 draw through most of the game, and he might have won SB MVP that year if the Rams had pulled it out.
Ja’Marr Chase (): Burrow’s main weapon was held in check by the Chiefs after burning KC in Week 17 and he will see a ton of shutdown CB Jalen Ramsey in the Super Bowl.
Odell Beckham Jr. (+2800): Coming off his first 100-yard game since joining the Rams, Beckham Jr. could play a larger role if the Bengals game plan to take away Kupp at all costs. He caught a TD in five of his last seven regular season games this year.
Joe Mixon (): Cincinnati’s workhorse has excelled in tough matchups throughout the season and he could burn the Rams defense as a receiver even if Donald and co. shut down the Bengals interior run game. It’s worth noting that the highest percentage of TDs (54.5%) came on the ground against the Rams in their home games this season.
Cam Akers (): The Rams have been a pass-heavy team, but Akers is their go-to-guy when they look to establish the run. He returned to the NFC Championship after suffering a shoulder stinger and he should be ready to carry the load two weeks later.
Tee Higgins (): With the Chiefs doubling Chase, Higgins was the more productive wideout in the AFC Championship game, and that trend could repeat if Ramsey does a good job of taking Chase away from Burrow.
Tyler Higbee (): After suffering a knee injury in the NFC Championship, Higbee should be considered questionable to play in the Super Bowl. Kendall Blanton (+5000) would step in as the Rams’ primary TE in that event.
Tyler Boyd (): The Bengals’ slot receiver could also thrive if the Rams pay too much attention to Chase and Higgins on the perimeter.
Von Miller (): The only player in Super Bowl LVI with a Super Bowl MVP under his belt, Miller could certainly affect this game with his pass-rushing presence since the Bengals allowed the second-highest sack rate (8.2%) this season.
Jalen Ramsey (): If Ramsey is able to erase Chase and come up with a key turnover, he could certainly garner MVP consideration.
Trey Hendrickson (): The Bengals’ best pass rusher could also make a huge impact by turning over Stafford, who has been shaky with ball security throughout the second half of the season. Hendrickson recorded a sack in 10 straight games at one point this season.
Evan McPherson (): The rookie kicker carried the Bengals past the Titans with four long FGs, including the game-winner, and he could become the first kicker to win Super Bowl MVP if he leads his team in scoring in a close game.
Best Super Bowl MVP betting sites
Super Bowl MVP history
Quarterbacks dominate the list of favorites per usual, although two LBs (Malcolm Smith and Von Miller) and WR Julian Edelman have accounted for three of the award recipients over the past eight Super Bowls.
Tom Brady (+600) has won three Super Bowl MVPs in that span and Patrick Mahomes (+450) became the youngest SB MVP two years ago. Aaron Rodgers (+450) is tied with Mahomes atop the odds table as the Packers prepare to host the 49ers in the Divisional Round.
The Super Bowl MVP debuted in the first SB, which featured the Green Bay Packers and Kansas City Chiefs in January of 1967. The Packers cruised to a 35-10 victory and QB Bart Starr won the MVP with 250 yards, two TDs and a pick. The next year, Green Bay won another SB title with Starr again winning MVP thanks to a modest line of 202 yards and a TD.
That would set the precedent for the award, which as gone to QBs 30 of 54 years since its inception. The MVP has gone to seven running backs and seven wide receivers, and a defensive player has won 10 times.
Yet unlike the NFL regular season MVP award — which has gone to QBs 32 times and RBs 20 times, with one defensive player (Harlon Hill, 1955) and one WR (Jerry Rice, 1987) winning the award — sometimes the Super Bowl MVP can come out of nowhere.
In the past 20 years, Tampa Bay safety Dexter Jackson and Seattle linebacker Malcolm Smith stand out as the most unlikely SB MVPs, while LBs Von Miller and Ray Lewis have also won on the strength of great defensive performances. Green Bay’s Desmond Howard became the only kick returner to win SB MVP in 1997 after totaling 244 return yards and a TD.
Return TDs have become increasingly rare in today’s NFL and defensive battles are also few and far between due to rule changes. Even in a 13-3 slugfest in Super Bowl 53, WR Julian Edelman was named MVP with 10 receptions for 141 yards. Quarterbacks had won seven of the previous nine awards.
In Super Bowl V, Cowboys LB Chuck Howley was named MVP despite Dallas losing, 16-13, to the Colts. This marks the only time a player from the losing team has been named MVP, although Tom Brady came relatively close in 2018 when he threw for 505 yards and 3 TDs in a 41-33 loss to the Eagles.
Brady holds the record with five total Super Bowl MVPs, followed by Joe Montana (3), Terry Bradshaw (2), Eli Manning (2), and Bart Starr (2). The Cowboys have produced the most SB MVPs with 7, followed by the Steelers (6) and Patriots (6).
Super Bowl MVPs
| Year | MVP | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Cooper Kupp (WR) | LA Rams |
| 2021 | Tom Brady (QB) | Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
| 2020 | Patrick Mahomes (QB) | Kansas City Chiefs |
| 2019 | Julian Edelman (WR) | New England Patriots |
| 2018 | Nick Foles (QB) | Philadelphia Eagles |
| 2017 | Tom Brady (QB) | New England Patriots |
| 2016 | Von Miller (LB) | Denver Broncos |
| 2015 | Tom Brady (QB) | New England Patriots |
| 2014 | Malcolm Smith (LB) | Seattle Seahawks |
| 2013 | Joe Flacco (QB) | Baltimore Ravens |
| 2012 | Eli Manning (QB) | New York Giants |
| 2011 | Aaron Rodgers (QB) | Green Bay Packers |
| 2010 | Drew Brees (QB) | New Orleans Saints |
| 2009 | Santonio Holmes (WR) | Pittsburgh Steelers |
| 2008 | Eli Manning (QB) | New York Giants |
| 2007 | Peyton Manning (QB) | Indianapolis Colts |
| 2006 | Hines Ward (WR) | Pittsburgh Steelers |
| 2005 | Deion Branch (WR) | New England Patriots |
| 2004 | Tom Brady (QB) | New England Patriots |
| 2003 | Dexter Jackson (S) | Tampa Bay Bucs |
| 2002 | Tom Brady (QB) | New England Patriots |
| 2001 | Ray Lewis (LB) | Baltimore Ravens |
| 2000 | Kurt Warner (QB) | St. Louis Rams |
| 1999 | John Elway (QB) | Denver Broncos |
| 1998 | Terrell Davis (RB) | Denver Broncos |
| 1997 | Desmond Howard (WR/KR) | Green Bay Packers |
| 1996 | Larry Brown (CB) | Dallas Cowboys |
| 1995 | Steve Young (QB) | San Francisco 49ers |
| 1994 | Emmitt Smith (RB) | Dallas Cowboys |
| 1993 | Troy Aikman (QB) | Dallas Cowboys |
| 1992 | Mark Rypien (QB) | Washington Redskins |
| 1991 | Ottis Anderson (RB) | New York Giants |
| 1990 | Joe Montana (QB) | San Francisco 49ers |
| 1989 | Jerry Rice (WR) | San Francisco 49ers |
| 1988 | Doug Williams (QB) | Washington Redskins |
| 1987 | Phil Simms (QB) | New York Giants |
| 1986 | Richard Dent (DE) | Chicago Bears |
| 1985 | Joe Montana (QB) | San Francisco 49ers |
| 1984 | Marcus Allen (RB) | Los Angeles Raiders |
| 1983 | John Riggins (RB) | Washington Redskins |
| 1982 | Joe Montana (QB) | San Francisco 49ers |
| 1981 | Jim Plunkett (QB) | Oakland Raiders |
| 1980 | Terry Bradshaw (QB) | Pittsburgh Steelers |
| 1979 | Terry Bradshaw (QB) | Pittsburgh Steelers |
| 1978 | H, Martin (DE), R. White (DT) | Dallas Cowboys |
| 1977 | Fred Biletnikoff (WR) | Oakland Raiders |
| 1976 | Lynn Swann (WR) | Pittsburgh Steelers |
| 1975 | Franco Harris (RB) | Pittsburgh Steelers |
| 1974 | Larry Csonka (RB) | Miami Dolphins |
| 1973 | Jake Scott (S) | Miami Dolphins |
| 1972 | Roger Staubach (QB) | Dallas Cowboys |
| 1971 | Chuck Howley (LB) | Dallas Cowboys |
| 1970 | Len Dawson (QB) | Kansas City Chiefs |
| 1969 | Joe Namath (QB) | New York Jets |
| 1968 | Bart Starr (QB) | Green Bay Packers |
| 1967 | Bart Starr (QB) | Green Bay Packers |