As Super Bowl LIX approaches, one of the most common arguments will be who will win the game’s Most Valuable Player award. When speculating who will be the Super Bowl LIX MVP, it’s useful to look at past winners, their roles, and whether they deserved the award.
The winner is selected by 16 football journalists and broadcasters. Fans are given a say by voting online. Make no mistake that the NFL has its preferred candidates for marketing reasons.
Let’s look at the most glaringly questionable selections in Super Bowl history.
Super Bowl I MVP: Bart Starr, QB – Green Bay Packers
- The Packers beat the Chiefs 35-10
- Starr completed 16 of 23 passes for 250 yards, 2 TDs and 1 INT
- Alternate Choice for MVP: Max McGee, WR
Starr was Vince Lombardi’s field general and Lombardi trusted him completely. He’s certainly a worthy candidate. However, McGee caught 7 passes for 138 yards and 2 TDs.
Ironically, McGee was not expecting to play much and planned to retire after the game. He’d stayed out all night and was on the bench chatting with his inactive running buddy Paul Hornung when Boyd Dowler could not play due to a lingering injury. Lombardi screamed for McGee and he had the game of his life. After that performance, he decided to play another year and got himself a second Super Bowl title.
McGee forever good-naturedly joked that he should’ve won the MVP.
Super Bowl IV MVP: Len Dawson, QB – Kansas City Chiefs
- The Chiefs beat the Vikings 23-7
- Dawson completed 12 of 17 passes for 142 yards with 1 TD and 1 INT
- Alternate Choice for MVP: Otis Taylor, WR
The AFL’s Chiefs dominating the NFL’s Vikings served as validation for the junior league as the AFL/NFL merger approached. There were still voices that called the Jets Super Bowl III win over the heavily favored Colts a fluke.
Dawson’s numbers are objectively mediocre. Taylor, who should probably be in the Hall of Fame, caught six passes for 81 yards and a touchdown. His 46-yard grab from Dawson in the third quarter sealed the game and was the epitome of head coach Hank Stram’s “matriculating the ball down the field.”
Super Bowl VI MVP: Roger Staubach, QB – Dallas Cowboys
- The Cowboys beat the Dolphins 24-3
- Staubach completed 12 of 19 passes for 119 yards and 2 TDs
- Alternate Choice for MVP: Duane Thomas, RB
Tom Landry won his first Super Bowl and in doing so, bent his usually strict rules to accommodate the iconoclastic Duane Thomas. He was known as an individualist with a quick wit. Before the Super Bowl, he remarked, “If it’s the ultimate game, how come they’re playing it again next year?”
He had Hall of Fame talent, but wouldn’t conform and only played four years.
Staubach was Mr. All-America, a handsome, religious, bland graduate of the Naval Academy known for his tolerance for pain, intense competitiveness, and gentlemanly demeanor off the field. More importantly, given the era, the racial aspect cannot be ignored. From a marketing standpoint, the white military veteran was a league-preferred choice over the proud Black man who didn’t take orders and rolled his eyes at the inherent hypocrisies of pro football.
Super Bowl XX MVP: Richard Dent, DE – Chicago Bears
- The Bears beat the Patriots 46-10
- Dent had 1.5 sacks 2 combined tackles and 2 solo tackles
- Alternate Choice for MVP: Jim McMahon, QB
This was another case of “not being suitable for the league image.”
McMahon had to deal with a major controversy the week of the Super Bowl as a local reporter said that the QB was drunk in a New Orleans bar making derogatory comments about the city and its residents. Of course, it was a fabrication and the reporter needed to issue an on-air apology.
The handsome and entertaining McMahon was an advertising dream with his penchant for saying whatever was on his mind. But he was already in trouble with the league for telling them to take their ridiculous rules and shove them. He’d been fined for wearing a headband with his apparel sponsor’s name on it, so he circumvented the ban by wearing the sponsored headband around his neck while on his head he wore a headband with “ROZELLE” written in ink for Commissioner Pete Rozelle.
Rozelle himself thought it was hilarious.
McMahon went 12 for 20 for 256 yards and ran for 2 TDs. He should’ve won the award.
Super Bowl XXV MVP: Ottis Anderson, RB – New York Giants
- The Giants beat the Bills 20-19
- Anderson carried the ball 21 times for 102 yards and 1 touchdown
- Alternate Choice for MVP: Thurman Thomas, Bills RB
The Giants won in a total team effort and if the writers were picking the MVP based on a player for the winning team’s best performance, Anderson is a solid selection. Quarterback Jeff Hostetler went 20 for 32 for 222 yards and 1 TD pass, so he could also have won it.
While giving the MVP to a player on the losing team is always up for debate, Thomas was the best player on the field that night. He rushed for 135 yards and 1 TD on 15 carries. He also caught 5 passes for 55 yards. Had Scott Norwood’s last-second field goal attempts sailed through the uprights, Thomas would have won the MVP.
Thomas is in the Hall of Fame. Anderson probably should be.
Super Bowl XXXVII MVP: Dexter Jackson, DB – Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- The Buccaneers beat the Raiders 48-21
- Jackson intercepted 2 passes for 34 yards
- Alternate Choice for MVP: Dwight Smith, DB
Tampa Bay was known for its defense and in this kind of blowout, it’s difficult to pinpoint any one offensive star. Journeyman QB Brad Johnson completed 18 of 34 passes for 215 yards, 2 TDs, and 1 INT. Running back Michael Pittman ran for 124 yards on 29 carries.
If the league wanted to base the MVP on who had the most camera time, Raiders owner Al Davis would’ve won. He was constantly onscreen as he sat in a suite, fuming and cursing.
It’s quite obvious the voters chose Jackson before Smith’s second pick-6 of the game when there were two seconds on the clock.
Super Bowl LIV MVP: Patrick Mahomes, QB – Kansas City Chiefs
- The Chiefs beat the 49ers 31-20
- Mahomes completed 26 passes in 42 attempts with 2 TDs and 2 INTs
- Alternate Choice for MVP: Damien Williams, RB
Patrick Mahomes is the new Tom Brady. Even people who couldn’t differentiate a football from a badminton shuttlecock recognize the name. Today more than ever with social media and everyone having an opinion and a forum to weigh in, brand identity takes precedence over performance.
Mahomes was excellent in the game, but he was also picked off twice. Williams rushed for 104 yards on 17 carries and a game-sealing 38-yarder with just over a minute to go. He also caught four balls for 29 yards and another TD.
But Mahomes is the face of the league and Williams is a journeyman running back who’s not even in the league anymore. If the NFL knows anything, it’s selling its product. And Patrick Mahomes is a selling point. Damien Williams is not.
Who Will Be Your Super Bowl LIX MVP Pick?
As the playoffs proceed, there will be many options. Will it be Lamar Jackson? Josh Allen? Mahomes? Saquon Barkley? Or a relatively unknown name like Texans star cornerback Derek Stingley Jr.?
Rest assured, it will be debated heavily unless there’s an above-and-beyond performance that unquestionably warrants the Super Bowl LIX MVP.
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