Every non-quarterback who has won the Super Bowl MVP award

The Super Bowl Most Valuable Player has been awarded since the NFL title game’s inception in 1957, but the selection process for the award has changed significantly throughout the history of the Super Bowl. The winner was initially selected by SPORT magazine, but the NFL took over the selection process in 1990. Since 2001, fan voting has accounted for 20 percent of the ballot. The remainder comes from a panel of 16 football writers and broadcasters.

The coveted award can define a player’s legacy, forever engraving their name into the annals of football history. Only 13 players who have won the Super Bowl MVP have not made it into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Forty-eight players have been named the Super Bowl MVP at least once. Out of the 37 retired players eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, only 13 have not been inducted. Eleven players are still active or not yet eligible for enshrinement, but six of them are nearly guaranteed to be first-ballot inductees. That would mean at least 30 of the 48 Super Bowl MVPs will be in the Hall of Fame. 

Much like the AP NFL Most Valuable Player award, the Super Bowl MVP heavily favors quarterbacks. Quarterbacks have won the Super Bowl MVP award in 33 of the prior 58 Super Bowls. A total of 26 non-quarterbacks have been awarded Super Bowl MVP, including 15 offensive players, 10 defensive players, and one special teams player.

Every non-quarterback to win Super Bowl MVP

On offense, Super Bowl MVPs were awarded to eight wide receivers and seven running backs. On the defensive side of the ball, the award was earned by four linebackers, two safeties, two defensive ends, one defensive tackle and one cornerback. Desmond Howard won the award as a return specialist for the Green Bay Packers after returning a kickoff for a 99-yard touchdown in Super Bowl XXXI.

Dallas Cowboys linebacker Chuck Howley became the first non-quarterback to win Super Bowl MVP, and he is the only player to win the award despite being on the losing team. Howley intercepted two passes and forced a fumble during a 16-13 loss to the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl V. Cowboys defensive tackle Randy White and defensive end Harvey Martin became the first players to be named co-MVPs in Super Bowl XII. That was the only time there have been co-MVPs in the Super Bowl.

No non-quarterback has won Super Bowl MVP more than one time. All-time great quarterback Tom Brady is the only player to win five Super Bowl MVPs. Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes could become just the second player ever to earn four Super Bowl MVPs and break his tie with Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana, who won three Super Bowl MVPs. Quarterbacks Bart Starr, Terry Bradshaw and Eli Manning all won the award twice.

Two of the past six Super Bowl MVPs were awarded to wide receivers. Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp became the last non-quarterback to win the award after recording eight receptions for 92 yards and two touchdowns in a 23-20 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals.