In the history of the NFL, only 11 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 10 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 nine players to have won multiple MVP awards, four are currently tied with three MVP awards, while another five have two awards.
Who Has Won the Award Three Times?
Of the four players who have won three MVP awards, 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.
Tom Brady, who retired in 2023, also has three NFL MVP awards. He won his three with the New England Patriots. The first award was received in 2007, followed by subsequent awards in 2014 and 2017. The other quarterback to have won three awards is Johnny Unitas, who received the honor 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?
Five QBs have taken the NFL MVP award twice in their careers. 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 also won the MVP award twice during his career. He earned his first MVP in 1999, just his second season in the NFL, before winning it again two years later in 2001. Warner is one of only four players, along with Joe Montana, Steve Young, and Brett Favre, and one of just 10 players all-time to win both the NFL MVP and the Super Bowl in the same season, accomplishing the feat in 1999.
Two active quarterbacks, Lamar Jackson and Patrick Mahomes, have each captured the MVP award twice. Both have already solidified themselves as all-time greats and are widely viewed as future Hall of Famers.
Mahomes has won three Super Bowls and is widely regarded as one of the top five quarterbacks in NFL history. For Jackson to reach that same tier, however, he will need to achieve greater postseason success.
Which Active QBs Could Join This List?
Josh Allen, who won the MVP award last season, remains the most likely active player to eventually become a multi-time MVP winner. While he won’t take home the award again this season, he is expected to stay firmly in the MVP conversation throughout his career.
Meanwhile, Drake Maye is currently the favorite to win this season’s MVP award. At just 23 years old, he and Allen could soon find themselves joining the exclusive group of players who have won the prestigious honor multiple times.
