The Best Super Bowl MVPs of All Time

Ranker NFL
Updated September 1, 2023 8.8K votes 674 voters
Over 600 Ranker voters have come together to rank this list of The Best Super Bowl MVPs of All Time
Voting Rules
Upvote the player you think is the greatest Super Bowl MVP ever

Who are the best Super Bowl MVPs of all time? The Super Bowl has become one of America's greatest traditions. Along with apple pie, there are few things more American than the Super Bowl. The game, which takes places the first Sunday of February, pits the two best NFL teams from the AFC and NFC for the right to take home the Vince Lombardi trophy. Another interesting facet of the game is who will win the Super Bowl Most Valuable Player. Only one time in the game's history has a member of the losing team been named Super Bowl MVP. Otherwise, you'll see a who's who of the NFL's greatest players of all time.

The players who have been named the Super Bowl's standout player are some of the most recognizable names in football. NFL Legends Joe Namath, Troy Aikman, Steve Young, and Jerry Rice have all won Super Bowl MVP, but it takes a special player to win the MVP twice, and only a handful of players can say they've done it - Tom Brady (5 MVPs), Joe Montana (3), Bart Starr (2), Terry Bradshaw (2) and Eli Manning (2). The latest Super Bowl MVP is Cooper Kupp of the 2022 Los Angeles Rams.

These are the greatest Super Bowl MVPs of all time. These are the best players to ever take home the Super Bowl MVP. Vote or re-rank this list according to who you think had the greatest performance in Super Bowl history.

Most divisive: Drew Brees - 2010
Ranked by
  • Joe Montana - 1982, 1985, 1990
    1

    Joe Montana - 1982, 1985, 1990

    Quarterback
    390 votes
    • Birthplace: New Eagle, Pennsylvania
    • Teams: San Francisco 49ers
    Joseph Clifford Montana Jr. (born June 11, 1956), nicknamed "Joe Cool" and "the Comeback Kid", is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons with the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs. After winning a national championship at Notre Dame, Montana started his NFL career in 1979 with San Francisco, where he played for the next 14 seasons. While a member of the 49ers, Montana started and won four Super Bowls and was the first player ever to have been named Super Bowl Most Valuable Player three times. He also holds Super Bowl career records for most passes without an interception (122 in four games) and the all-time highest passer rating of 127.8. In 1993, Montana was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs where he played his final two seasons, and led the franchise to its first AFC Championship Game in January 1994. Montana was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2000, his first year of eligibility.In 1989, and again in 1990, the Associated Press named Montana the NFL Most Valuable Player (MVP), and Sports Illustrated magazine named Montana the 1990 "Sportsman of the Year". Four years earlier, in 1986, Montana won the AP NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award. Montana was elected to eight Pro Bowls, as well as being voted 1st team All-Pro by the AP in 1987, 1989, and 1990. Montana had the highest passer rating in the National Football Conference (NFC) five times (1981, 1984, 1985, 1987, and 1989); and, in both 1987 and 1989, Montana had the highest passer rating in the NFL.Among his career highlights, "The Catch" (the game-winning touchdown pass vs. Dallas in the 1981 NFC Championship Game) and a Super Bowl-winning 92-yard drive against the Bengals in Super Bowl XXIII are staples of NFL highlight films. The 49ers retired the number 16, the jersey number Montana wore while with the team. In 1994, Montana earned a spot on the NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team; he is also a member of the NFL 1980s All-Decade Team. In 1999, editors at The Sporting News ranked Montana third on their list of Football's 100 Greatest Players. Also in 1999, ESPN named Montana the 25th greatest athlete of the 20th century. In 2006, Sports Illustrated rated him the number-one clutch quarterback of all time.
  • John Elway - 1999
    2

    John Elway - 1999

    Quarterback
    266 votes
    • Birthplace: Port Angeles, Washington
    • Teams: Denver Broncos
    John Albert Elway Jr. (born June 28, 1960) is a former American football quarterback who is currently general manager and President of Football Operations of the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL).Elway played college football at Stanford and his entire 16-year professional career with the Denver Broncos. At the time of his retirement in early 1999, Elway had recorded the most victories by a starting quarterback and statistically was the second most prolific passer in NFL history. He was also a prolific rusher of the ball, being one of only two players ever to score a rushing touchdown in four different Super Bowls (the other being Thurman Thomas) and the only quarterback to do so.Elway set several career records for passing attempts and completions while at Stanford and also received All-American honors. He was the first selection in the 1983 NFL Draft, famously known as the quarterback class of 1983, where he was taken by the Baltimore Colts before being traded to the Denver Broncos. In January 1987, Elway embarked on one of the most notable performances in sports and in NFL history, helping engineer a 98-yard, game-tying touchdown drive in the AFC Championship Game against the Cleveland Browns. The moment is known in National Football League lore as "The Drive." Following that game in Cleveland, Elway and the Broncos lost in Super Bowl XXI to the New York Giants. After two more Super Bowl losses, the Broncos entered a period of decline; however, that ended during the 1997 season, as Elway and Denver won their first Super Bowl title by defeating the Green Bay Packers 31–24 in Super Bowl XXXII. The Broncos repeated as champions the following season in Super Bowl XXXIII by defeating the Atlanta Falcons 34–19. Elway was voted MVP of that Super Bowl, which was the last game of his career, and in doing so Elway set a then-record five Super Bowl starts which was broken in February 2015 when Tom Brady of the New England Patriots started Super Bowl XLIX. As Denver's quarterback, Elway led his teams to six AFC Championship Games and five Super Bowls, winning two. After his retirement as a player, he served as general manager and executive vice president of football operations of the Broncos, which won four division titles, two AFC Championships, and Super Bowl 50 during his tenure. Elway has been a member of the Broncos organization for all three of their Super Bowl victories, two as a player and one as an executive. Elway was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2004 in his first year of eligibility and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2000.
  • Marcus Allen - 1984
    3

    Marcus Allen - 1984

    Running back
    226 votes
    • Birthplace: San Diego, California
    • Teams: Oakland Raiders
    Marcus LeMarr Allen (born March 26, 1960) is an American former football running back and football analyst for CBS. As a professional, Allen ran for 12,243 yards and caught 587 passes for 5,412 yards during his career for both the Los Angeles Raiders and the Kansas City Chiefs from 1982 to 1997. He scored 145 touchdowns, including a then-league-record 123 rushing touchdowns, and was elected to six Pro Bowls over the course of his career. Allen was the first NFL player to gain more than 10,000 rushing yards and 5,000 receiving yards during his career. Allen is considered one of the greatest goal line and short-yard runners in National Football League (NFL) history.His younger brother, Damon Allen, played quarterback for 23 seasons in the Canadian Football League, was named to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2012 and was professional football's all-time leader in passing yards. Allen has the distinction of being the only player to have won the Heisman Trophy, an NCAA national championship, the Super Bowl, and be named NFL MVP and Super Bowl MVP. He has been inducted into both the College Football Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
  • Joe Namath - 1969
    4

    Joe Namath - 1969

    Quarterback
    261 votes
    • Birthplace: Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania
    • Teams: New York Jets
    Joseph William Namath (; born May 31, 1943), nicknamed Broadway Joe, is an American former football quarterback and actor. He played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide under coach Paul "Bear" Bryant from 1962 to 1964, and professional football in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL) during the 1960s and 1970s. Namath was an AFL icon and played for that league's New York Jets for most of his professional football career. He finished his career with the Los Angeles Rams. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1985. He retired after playing 143 games over 13 years in the AFL and NFL, including playoffs. His teams had an overall record of 68 wins, 71 losses, and four ties, 64–64–4 in 132 starts, and 4–7 in relief. He completed 1,886 passes for 27,663 yards, threw 173 touchdowns, and had 220 interceptions, for a career passer rating of 65.5. He played for three division champions (the 1968 and 1969 AFL East Champion Jets and the 1977 NFC West Champion Rams), earned one league championship (1968 AFL Championship), and one Super Bowl victory (Super Bowl III). In 1999, he was ranked number 96 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Football Players, the only player on the list to have spent a majority of his career with the Jets. In his 1975 autobiography, Bryant called Namath the most natural athlete he had ever coached.Namath is known for boldly guaranteeing a Jets' victory over Don Shula's NFL Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III (1969), then making good on his prediction with a 16–7 upset (the win remains the Jets' only Super Bowl appearance). Already a celebrity, he was now established not only as a sports icon but a pop culture icon. He subsequently parlayed his notoriety into success with endorsement deals and as a nightclub owner, talk show host, pioneering advertising spokesman, theater, motion picture, and television actor, and sports broadcaster. He remained a highly recognizable figure in the media and sports worlds half a century after his brashness cemented his identity in the public mind.
  • Franco Harris - 1975
    5

    Franco Harris - 1975

    Running back
    239 votes
    • Birthplace: Fort Dix, New Hanover Township, New Jersey, United States of America
    • Teams: Pittsburgh Steelers
    Franco Harris (March 7, 1950 – December 20, 2022) was an American former football running back who played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Seattle Seahawks. He was picked by the Steelers in the first round of the 1972 NFL Draft, the 13th selection overall. He played his first 12 years in the NFL with the Steelers; his 13th and final year was spent with the Seahawks. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1990.
  • Bart Starr - 1967, 1968
    6

    Bart Starr - 1967, 1968

    Quarterback
    263 votes
    • Birthplace: Montgomery, Alabama
    • Teams: Green Bay Packers
    Bryan Bartlett Starr (January 9, 1934 – May 26, 2019) was a professional American football quarterback and coach. Starr played college football at the University of Alabama, and was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the 17th round of the 1956 NFL draft, where he played for them until 1971. Starr was the only quarterback in NFL history to lead a team to three consecutive league championships (1965–1967). Starr led his team to victories in the first two Super Bowls: I and II. As the Packers' head coach, he was less successful, compiling a 52–76–3 (.408) record from 1975 through 1983. Starr was named the Most Valuable Player of the first two Super Bowls and during his career earned four Pro Bowl selections. He won the league MVP award in 1966. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the Packers Hall of Fame in 1977. Starr has the highest postseason passer rating (104.8) of any quarterback in NFL history and a postseason record of 9–1. His career completion percentage of 57.4 was an NFL best when he retired in 1972. Starr also held the Packers' franchise record for games played (196) for 32 years, through the 2003 season.