The top three betting favorites in this year’s Super Bowl MVP market are Patrick Mahomes (+105), Saquon Barkley (+240), and Jalen Hurts (+375) according to BetMGM.
A quarterback won the MVP 33 times over the previous 58 Super Bowls. The simplest and most popular trend to bet on the MVP is to select the quarterback from the winning team. Since the 1999 season, a quarterback won the MVP 17 times, while a non-QB won the award nine times. Over the last 15 Super Bowls, a QB has won the MVP 11 times.
Barkley is the second favorite on the board, and he will attempt to become only the eighth running back to win the MVP in Super Bowl history. A running back has not won the MVP since the 1998 season when Terrell Davis led the Denver Broncos to a victory in Super Bowl 32.
Here’s a quick rundown of MVP winners by position:
Quarterback
MVP Wins: 33
Last QB MVP: Patrick Mahomes, Super Bowl 58
Best QB Odds: Patrick Mahomes +105
The Kansas City Chiefs are on the cusp of making history as the first team to win the Super Bowl in three consecutive seasons. Meanwhile, Mahomes attempts to become the first three-peat MVP winner. The Chiefs won the Super Bowl three times in the last five postseasons, and each victory coincided with Mahomes winning the MVP.
After winning the MVP in Super Bowl 58, Mahomes became only the third player to win the MVP in back-to-back Super Bowls. Bart Starr led the Green Bay Packers to victories in the first two Super Bowls and the legendary quarterback was named the MVP. Quarterback Terry Bradshaw won back-to-back MVPs when he guided the Pittsburgh Steelers to consecutive championships in Super Bowls 13 and 14.
Tom Brady holds the record with five Super Bowl MVPs. Mahomes is currently tied with Joe Montana with three MVPs. Eli Manning has two MVPs, and he’s tied with Bradshaw and Starr as the only other players with multiple wins.
Mahomes is the consensus favorite to win the MVP of Super Bowl 59 at +105 odds, and Hurts is +375. Mahomes has a 17-3 record over his career in the playoffs, Hurts is 5-3 as a starter in the playoffs but coming off a sensational performance in the NFC Championship.
The Chiefs will attempt to shut down Barkley and force Hurts to beat them. In that potential scenario in which the Eagles win the Super Bowl with a stout passing attack, Hurts offers up the best value on the board to win the MVP at +375.
Wide Receiver
MVP Wins: 8
Last WR MVP: Cooper Kupp, Super Bowl 56
Best WR Odds: Xavier Worthy +3000
After getting shut out in the MVP race in the first nine Super Bowls, Lynn Swann from the Steelers became the first wide receiver to claim an MVP in Super Bowl 10. Fred Biletnikoff from the Oakland Raiders won the MVP the next year in Super Bowl 11. A WR drought ensued, which lasted over a decade before Jerry Rice won the MVP in Super Bowl 23 with the San Francisco 49ers.
It took another 16 years before Dieon Branch became only the fourth WR to win the MVP when the New England Patriots prevailed in Super Bowl 39. Branch’s performance marked a mini boom for wide receivers in the late 2000s. When the Steelers won the Super Bowl twice in a four-year span, wide receivers Hines Ward and Santonio Holmes were awarded the MVP in Super Bowls 40 and 43 respectively.
A quarterback won the MVP six times in the last eight years, but a wide receiver won the other two instances with Julian Edelman from the Patriots in Super Bowl 53 and Cooper Kupp from the L.A. Rams in Super Bowl 56.
With the Eagles’ secondary looking to contain Travis Kelce, they’ll roll the dice on making rookie WR Xavier Worthy beat them. You can make a strong argument for Worthy to win MVP since he emerged as Mahomes’ favorite target. Since Week 11, Worthy leads the Chiefs in receptions, yards, touchdowns, and first downs.
Worthy is +3000 odds to win the MVP. He’s the highest WR in contention and the third-highest member of the Chiefs on the awards board.
Hurts has one of the best WR tandems in the league with A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith. They each appeared in 13 games in the regular season and combined for 15 touchdowns. Brown is +3500 odds to win MVP and Smith is +6000.
Sign up at BetMGM before kickoff and place your Super Bowl bets Today!
Running Back
MVP Wins: 7
Last RB MVP: Terrell Davis, Super Bowl 32
Best RB Odds: Saquon Barkley +240
A running back has not won the MVP this century. That could change in Super Bowl 59 with Barkley, who is just 30 yards short of setting the record for most rushing yards in a combined regular season and postseason.
Bakley has been unstoppable in the playoffs for the Eagles. He snapped off three 60-plus-yard touchdowns in the last two playoff games. To put that in context, the legendary Gale Sayers only scored two 60-yard touchdowns in his entire Hall of Fame career with the Chicago Bears.
Kareem Hunt from the Chiefs got the bulk of the carries in the AFC Championship, and he’s +6600 odds to win the MVP.
Linebacker
MVP Wins: 4
Last LB MVP: Von Miller, Super Bowl 50
Best LB Odds: Zack Baun +8000
Of all the defensive positions, a linebacker claimed the most MVP awards with four. Von Miller was the last defensive player and last linebacker to win the MVP when the Denver Broncos won Super Bowl 50. Just two years earlier, linebacker Malcolm Smith from the Seattle Seahawks won the MVP in Super Bowl 48.
Zack Baun is a vital part of Vic Fangio’s defense as an interior linebacker with the Eagles. He’s the top linebacker and the second-highest defensive player from the Eagles in contention for the MVP at +8000 odds.
Trent McDuffie is +25000 and he’s the highest linebacker from the Chiefs on the MVP board.
Defensive Line
MVP Wins: 2
Last D-Line MVP: Richard Dent, Super Bowl 20
Best D-Line Odds: Chris Jones, Jalen Carter +6600
The only co-MVP winners included a pair of defensive line teammates from the Dallas Cowboys when Randy White (DT) and Harvey Martin (DE) shared MVP honors in Super Bowl 12.
Richard Dent was the only other defensive end to win the MVP when he anchored the 1985 Chicago Bears, which is widely considered one of the greatest defenses in NFL history and led them to a victory in Super Bowl 20.
Defensive ends Jalen Carter (Eagles) and Chris Jones (Chiefs) are both +6600 odds to win the MVP.
Defensive Back
MVP Wins: 3
Last DB MVP: Dexter Jackson, Super Bowl 37
Best Secondary Odds: Darius Slay +25000
A safety won the MVP twice, and a cornerback only once. Larry Brown, a cornerback with the Dallas Cowboys, won the MVP in Super Bowl 30.
Jake Scott won the MVP of Super Bowl 7 as the safety of the Miami Dolphins. Dexter Jackson became the second safety to win it 30 years later with the Tampa Bay Bucs in Super Bowl 37. Jackson is also the last member of the secondary to claim an MVP award.
Darius Slay, a standout cornerback from the Eagles, is the highest defensive back on the board at +25000 odds to win the MVP. Teammate CJ Gardner-Johnson has +26000 odds.
BetRivers has the best Super Bowl Prop bets. Sign up before kickoff.
Kick Returner
MVP Wins: 1
Last KR/PR MVP: Desmond Howard, Super Bowl 31
Best KR/PR Odds: Cooper DeJean +25000
Desmond Howard is the only kick returner or special teams player to win the MVP. In Super Bowl 31, Howard returned a kickoff for 99 yards. He tallied 154 total kick return yards and also set a record at the time with 90 punt return yards.
The Eagles have Isiah Rodgers returning kickoffs and Cooper DeJean is the punt returner. Rodgers also fielded a few punts in the playoffs, but he’s +75000 odds to win the MVP. DeJean is the top returner on the board at +25000 odds because the rookie also plays cornerback, and he was a finalist for Defensive Rookie of the Year.
Rookie Nikko Remigio has been handling all returner duties for the Chiefs in the postseason. Remigio is +7500 odds to win the MVP.
Tight End
MVP Wins: 0
Last TE MVP: N/A
Best TE Odds: Travis Kelce +1500
Just a friendly reminder that a tight end has never won the MVP of the Super Bowl.
Travis Kelce is +1500 odds to win the MVP. He’s the fourth-highest player on the board at BetMGM and the second-highest member of the Chiefs behind Mahomes.
Kelce’s odds are much lower considering the historical trend because he’s a popular bet once again. Swifties are backing Kelce to win MVP for a second Super Bowl in a row because they want to bet on Taylor Swift’s boyfriend.
Dallas Goedert, the Eagles tight end, is an MVP long shot at +10000 odds.
Kicker/Punter
MVP Wins: 0
Last MVP: N/A
Best Kicker Odds: Harrison Butker, Jake Elliot +50000
A kicker or punter has never won the MVP. Both Harrison Butker (Chiefs) and Jake Elliot (Eagles) have the same odds as a humongous underdog at +50000.
It would be hilarious if this year’s Super Bowl became a defensive slog with a 12-9 final score with all the points generated by field goals. The only scenario in which a kicker could win an MVP would include a barrage of field goals including a game-winning kick.
Butker tied the record with four field goals in Super Bowl 58 and even set a record with a 57-yard blast. Despite a sensational performance, Mahomes won the MVP after throwing a game-winning touchdown in overtime to defeat the San Francisco 49ers.
21+. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER
