Brady Shoots For Fifth MVP Award
Most players would be thrilled to win one Super Bowl in their career. But how about five titles and four most valuable player awards in the NFL championship?
Tom Brady and the New England Patriots are gunning for their sixth Lombardi Trophy, which would tie the franchise with the Pittsburgh Steelers for the most Super Bowl victories.
Brady may win a record fifth MVP award if the Patriots can beat the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LII on Sunday, Feb. 4 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. The AFC champions are currently 4.5-point favorites to defend their crown. Brady is the odds-on favorite (-110) to take the MVP title (odds provided by bovada.lv).
As the debate rages on if No. 12 is the G.O.A.T. (greatest of all time), his numbers sure say so. Brady, who was drafted 199th overall out of Michigan in the 2000 draft, is in his 18th season with the Patriots. The 40-year-old’s four Super Bowl MVP awards are the most ever by a single player. He has won two league MVP awards (2007, 2010), selected to 12 Pro Bowls, and has led his team to more division titles (14) than any other quarterback in NFL history.
Brady has passed for more than 66,000 yards and 488 touchdowns. He has played in all 16 regular season games in 14 of 17 seasons where he was the starting quarterback.
And the winner is?: The winner is chosen by a fan vote during the game and by a panel of 16 writers and broadcasters who vote after the game. The media panel’s ballots count for 80 per cent of the vote tally, while the viewers’ ballots make up the other 20.
Cowboys rule: Harvey Martin and Randy White were co-MVPs of Super Bowl XII, the only time two players have been chosen for the award in the same game. Including Martin and White, seven Dallas Cowboys have won Super Bowl MVP awards — the most of any team.
Multiple awards: Brady has the most MVP awards at four. Joe Montana has won three, while Bart Starr, Terry Bradshaw, and Eli Manning have won the award twice. Starr and Bradshaw are the only players to have won it in back-to-back years. All the multiple award winners are quarterbacks.
If Super Bowl rings are what count the most, he already has five. He’s running out of fingers for them all. If the Patriots win, there’s a great chance Brady will take the MVP honors since quarterbacks have won this award 28 times in the 51 championships — just shy of 55 per cent of the time.
At least that keeps Nick Foles (+325) in the running. The Eagles’ QB was a little shaky in the regular season when he took over for an injured Carson Wentz in Week 14. But he has been fantastic in his two playoff starts — a 15-10 victory over the Atlanta Falcons in the divisional round and a 38-7 win over the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Conference final.
For the Eagles to win the Super Bowl, Foles has to play a steady, consistent game. In two postseason victories, Foles actually has better numbers than Brady in pass completion percentage and quarterback rating.
After the two quarterbacks, everyone else on both sides of the ball would be considered long shots.
Ron Gronkowski, who was knocked out of the AFC conference final with a concussion, is the favorite among non-QBs. The star tight end is a dominant force and one of Brady’s favorite targets. Gronkowski (+900) caught 69 passes for 1,084 yards — the fourth time in his career he’s gone over 1,000 yards in a season. He’s still listed as probable to play in the Super Bowl.
In the group at +1800 are Dion Lewis and Danny Amendola for the Patriots and Jay Ajayi for the Eagles. Tight end Zach Ertz is pegged at +2000.
The rest of the players are 22-1 or more, including the kickers for both teams.
Brady is the overwhelming pick to win his fifth Super Bowl MVP, but there’s little money to be made on him considering the odds.
Foles has proven in the postseason that he’s more than capable of delivering a victory. The payoff for him to take this title is certainly appealing.
VGB’s pick — Nick Foles (+325)
