The NFL Most Valuable Player award will not be decided when Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson takes on Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen in the Divisional Round. In fact, the MVP voting deadline has passed, and all ballots have been accounted for and received.
Sunday’s AFC Divisional Game Will Have No Impact on MVP Race
While the winner will be announced on Feb. 6, 2025, during the NFL Honors award show on FOX, the voting deadline was during the regular season. Therefore, Sunday’s Divisional Round matchup featuring Jackson and Allen — the top-two favorites for NFL MVP — will not have any impact on the race.
This is done so no player can influence a voter with his postseason performance if he leads his team to a championship. The voting is based on regular-season stats and intangibles only.
Jackson and Allen have stated their confidence that their performances this season were MVP-worthy. The Baltimore QB has already won the award on two occasions, while Allen has yet to win an NFL MVP award.
Whereas the Heisman Trophy is voted on by over 1,000 media members and past winners, the NFL MVP is voted on by 50 media members representing a cross-section of America. The Associated Press refers to this group as a “nationwide panel of media.”
Each voter lists their top five players, and players are assigned a certain number of points depending on the position in which they are voted. A first-place vote is worth 10 points, while a second-place vote is worth five. A third-place vote is worth three points, a fourth-place vote is worth two points, and a fifth-place vote is worth one.
This system was implemented after the 2022 season. Before that, voters only chose one player. In 2023, the first year of the new voting system, Jackson won the award with 49 first-place votes.
Jackson and Tom Brady are also the only unanimous MVP winners. In total, 54 offensive players have won the award. Fifty quarterbacks and four running backs have taken home the top prize, with one kicker, Washington’s Mark Moseley, winning it in 1982.
There have been two ties for NFL MVP in the past. Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre and Detroit Lions running back Barry Sanders were co-MVPs in 1993. Then, in 2003, Tennessee Titans quarterback Steve McNair and Indianapolis Colts QB Peyton Manning shared the award.