In the history of the NFL, only nine players have won the MVP award more than once. But who has won it the most times? The NFL’s Most Valuable Player is awarded annually by the Associated Press (AP). The history of the award stretches back six decades. Let’s take a look at who has the most NFL MVP awards and who are the other eight players to have won the award multiple times.
Who Has Won the NFL MVP Award the Most?
Peyton Manning has the honor of having won the most NFL MVP awards in the history of the league. Manning won the award four times with the Indianapolis Colts before adding his fifth as the QB of the Denver Broncos. His first two awards came back-to-back in 2003 and 2004 before he repeated the feat of going back-to-back in 2008 and 2009. Manning’s final NFL MVP award came in 2013, his second of four seasons with the Broncos.
Who Else Has Won Multiple NFL MVP Awards?
As it stands, Manning and Aaron Rodgers are the only players with more than three MVP awards. Rodgers is officially only one MVP behind Manning after winning the 2022 NFL MVP award.
Of the other eight players to have won multiple MVP awards, four players are currently tied with three MVP awards, with another three players having two awards.
Who Has Won the Award Three Times?
Of the four players to be sitting on three MVP awards currently, the most notable are Brett Favre and Tom Brady. Favre won back-to-back-to-back awards between 1995 and 1997. He also holds the record for being the only player in league history to win the award three consecutive times.
Recently retired QB Tom Brady also has three NFL MVP awards. He won his three with the New England Patriots. The first award came in 2007, with subsequent awards in 2014 and 2017. The other QB to have three awards is Johnny Unitas, who won in 1959, 1964, and 1967 with the Baltimore Colts.
Only one non-QB has won the NFL MVP award more than once, and that is the legendary running back Jim Brown. All three of Brown’s awards came with the Cleveland Browns between 1957 and 1965.
Which QBs Have Won the Award Twice?
Three QBs have taken the NFL MVP award twice in their careers. All three of them won both of their awards within a three-year span. Joe Montana and Steve Young both won the award twice with the San Francisco 49ers. Montana won his two awards in 1989 and 1990, while Young won the award in 1992 and 1994.
MORE: NFL MVP Winners Throughout History
Kurt Warner is the other player to have won the award twice. He won his first award in 1999, his second year in the NFL. He then won his next NFL MVP award two years later in 2001. Warner is one of just four players on this list (Montana, Young, and Favre) and 10 all-time to have won the MVP and Super Bowl in the same season (1999).
Which Active QBs Could Join This List?
The only two active QBs that could potentially win the MVP award for a second time in their careers would be Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson. Mahomes took the award home 2018 season with the Kansas City Chiefs. He is currently that odds-on favorite to once again win the award after another excellent year with the Chiefs in 2022.
Lamar Jackson won the award in 2019 and is still only 26 years old. With a ton of years left in the NFL, he could conceivably add a second MVP to his trophy case. However, with recent reports that the QB and the Baltimore Ravens are in somewhat of a stalemate contract-wise, he might win the award with a different team.