It’s never too early to begin thinking ahead to who may end up as the Super Bowl MVP for Super Bowl 58. Once the betting odds come out for teams who could potentially win the big game, we begin to wonder who from those teams may be the game’s most valuable player. The official odds for who that player could be won’t be out until we know which teams will begin competing in the game itself.
Super Bowl 58 MVP Odds and Predictions
Nevertheless, we can begin to understand the process, so that when the time comes, we have an idea of where we’d like to put some money. We’ll start by looking at past Super Bowl MVP winners.
As of now, the Kansas City Chiefs are the betting favorites to repeat, and if they’re in the big game, you have to like Patrick Mahomes’ chances to add to his collection.
Super Bowl 58 MVP Betting Trends
Looking at past Super Bowl MVP betting trends, we can begin to narrow our selection of who has the best opportunity to win the award for Super Bowl 58. To this, we can look historically at what position wins the award the most, the least, and in between, to have a good idea of what to expect.
Quarterback
The obvious positional favorite is quarterback. Quarterback has won the Super Bowl MVP award 55% of the time, including Super Bowl 57 when Mahomes won it. It’s also gone to quarterbacks in instances when they clearly didn’t deserve it, such as in Super Bowl 55 when it was given to Tom Brady.
MORE: What Does the NFL Super Bowl MVP Winner Get?
QB will always have an advantage, and it would take a truly special performance from another position to usurp it.
Wide Receiver
The wide receiver position has won the Super Bowl MVP award eight times. After quarterback, it is the most by a single position.
WR has a decent track record recently. The position last won the award in Super Bowl 56 when Cooper Kupp was the recipient. In fact, in the last 18 years, dating back to 2005, the wide receiver position has won Super Bowl MVP 28% of the time, which is double the percentage it has won the award overall.
Running Back
Coming in third place of Super Bowl MVPs is the running back position. It is a distant third, however.
We haven’t seen a running back win the Super Bowl MVP award since Terrell Davis did with the Denver Broncos a quarter century ago. Now with the running back position being devalued year to year in the modern era, it would take a truly sensational performance to see one win it again.
Linebacker
The last one truly worth mentioning is linebacker. With the multiple fronts used in today’s NFL, pass rushers often carry that designation, giving the position two bites at the apple.
We’ve seen both off-ball linebackers and edge rushers win the award under the LB designation. In 2016, Von Miller, who no one would confuse for a cover guy, won the award for the Broncos. Two years before, off-ball linebacker Malcolm Smith won Super Bowl MVP as a member of the Seattle Seahawks.
Super Bowl MVP History
The Super Bowl MVP award was first given out to Bart Starr of the inaugural Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers. Starr would win the award the following year as well. He led the charge and set the precedent for a whopping 31 quarterbacks to win the award in the years to come, culminating in Mahomes winning it in Super Bowl 57.
MORE: How Many Super Bowls Has Tom Brady Won?
Like Starr, Mahomes has now won the award multiple times. Both are two of just six total players to hold that distinction. The other players are Brady, Joe Montana, Terry Bradshaw, and Eli Manning. All multiple winners are quarterbacks.
Who Votes on the Super Bowl MVP?
Sixteen media members who are hand-picked each year by the NFL — and are actively covering the game — are chosen to vote for the Super Bowl MVP. Those 16 votes account for 80% of the voting weight. The remaining 20% is left to the fans via online voting. The media can turn their ballots in immediately following the conclusion of the game and even before the game is over once a winner has clearly been decided.
Who Has Won the Most Super Bowl MVPs?
Brady has won the most Super Bowl MVP awards in NFL history. Some deserved, some based on name recognition.
The Super Bowl MVP hardware he has accumulated adds to the collection of hardware that makes Brady the most decorated player the NFL has ever seen. His five MVPs go along with his seven Super Bowl championships and three league MVP awards.
What If I Want to Track My NFL Bets?
The best way to track your NFL bets is to use Pikkit. Pikkit is a social sports tracker app that is completely free. You can sync your accounts from every legal sportsbook with ease and have an easy-to-read rollout of your trends and winnings.