Ranking the Best Super Bowl MVPs of the Last Decade

There’s no bigger event on the sporting calendar each season than the Super Bowl. Crowning the champion of the National Football League has become an unofficial holiday in the United States and much of the world.  

As one would expect, there have been many terrific performances by some of the legends of the game. The Pete Rozelle Trophy, honoring the longtime visionary commissioner of the NFL, has been hoisted by some of the greats (the award was given its current name beginning with Super Bowl XXV). It’s not surprising that the quarterbacks have dominated the awards, with either Hall of Famers (Joe Montana, Bart Starr, and Terry Bradshaw) or the eventually-shrined (Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes) among those with multiple awards.  

With the title game now nearing 60 years of existence, here’s a look at the best Super Bowl MVPs of the past decade. 

Just limiting this article to the 2015-through-2024 Super Bowls and those winners, Mahomes and his three awards (those after the 2020, 2023, and 2024 seasons) would lead the list Brady “only” won two during this interval, which did begin with a defensive player (Von Miller) as his Denver Broncos (AFC) defeated the AFC’s Carolina Panthers.

There’s even a “one-hit wonder” in quarterback Nick Foles, who improbably led the Eagles over the New England Patriots after the 2017 season. 

Who Won the MVP in the Super Bowl?

NFL news seemingly has no end either before, during, or after the Super Bowl. The latest edition (Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans) saw the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football Conference (NFC) overwhelm the Kansas City Chiefs of the American Football Conference (AFC), 40-22. It wasn’t even that close, as the Eagles soundly denied the Chiefs what would have been the first three-peat in the history of the game. 

Philly was superior in all facets of the game. Quarterback Jalen Hurts (17-of-22, 221 passing yards, two touchdowns, one interception) won MVP honors. Hurts also led Philadelphia with 72 rushing yards and a score.

This was a lopsided affair that confounded the line, as KC was a tepid, one-point favorite as far as the betting odds were concerned.    

Has a Losing Player Ever Won the Super Bowl MVP? 

It’s not fair to limit the legacy of Chuck Howley to the “only losing player to win the Super Bowl MVP award,” but the Dallas Cowboys’ star linebacker did just that back in Super Bowl V. A sloppy game between the Cowboys (NFC) and the Baltimore Colts (AFC) saw the Colts use a last-second field goal by Jim O’Brien to win, 16-13.

Howley couldn’t be blamed, certainly not with a pair of interceptions and a fumble recovery. He was the first defensive player/non-quarterback to win the award.

Howley ended his 15-year career (the last 13 in Dallas) having played 180 NFL games. He was selected to a half-dozen Pro Bowls, also five first-team all-league accolades. Retiring after the 1973 season, he finally made the Hall of Fame in 2023.    

How Many Super Bowl MVPs Does Tom Brady Have? 

It’s not possible to mention Super Bowl MVPs without a nod to Tom Brady and his five awards. Winning his first award after the 2001 season when the New England Patriots stunned the St. Louis Rams. Brady then added awards after the 2003, 2014, and 2016 seasons with the Pats, also after the 2020 season with Tampa Bay. 

Brady’s five awards are two more than quarterback Joe Montana of the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes. Montana has been enshrined in Canton (Class of 2000), while both Brady and Mahomes are on their way.

Any Final Thoughts?

There is never a downtime when it comes to NFL interest and NFL rumors. If you’re looking ahead to the 2025 season and the NFL Super Bowl LX winner in Santa Clara, California, there are tri-favorites (Baltimore Ravens, Kansas City Chiefs, and Philadelphia Eagles) as of this post-Super Bowl LIX writing. They are all listed at 13-2 (+650).