Late Sunday afternoon, with starters pulled and playoff spots locked, the MVP race was still very much alive. That’s the part fans often miss. The NFL’s biggest individual award isn’t decided in January chaos or postseason drama. It’s shaped quietly, deliberately, long before the first playoff snap.
How Does the NFL MVP Voting Process Actually Work in Close Races?
The NFL MVP is decided by a small group that fits inside one hotel ballroom. Fifty media members, selected by the Associated Press and described as a “nationwide panel of media,” hold the entire vote. This isn’t just a writer’s club either.
Analysts and former players, such as Cris Collinsworth, Troy Aikman, and Tony Dungy, have all been voters, which matters when context and nuance enter the discussion.
Since the 2022 season, voters have not submitted a single name. Instead, each voter ranks five players. The system rewards depth of support, not just top-end backing. A first-place vote carries 10 points, a second-place vote earns five, a third-place vote earns three, a fourth-place vote earns two, and a fifth-place vote earns one. Totals are added up. Highest score wins.
That change closed a loophole that had haunted tight races. When voters could select only one player, evenly split ballots created ties and ignored how close the second or third-place options actually were. Now, those margins matter. In a race like this year’s, they might decide everything.
The system worked immediately. In 2023, Lamar Jackson captured the award with 49 first-place votes. He and Tom Brady remain the only unanimous MVP winners. Historically, the award has tilted heavily toward quarterbacks, with 50 of the 54 offensive MVPs going to the position.
Why This Year’s Race Feels Different
The 2025 MVP conversation became a case study in how voters think. Matthew Stafford and Drake Maye entered the final stretch on opposite trajectories.
Stafford had been the betting favorite for much of the season, until a rough Monday night against Atlanta shook confidence. Three interceptions. Bad decisions. Visible frustration.
Every Drake Maye TD this season. pic.twitter.com/sC3fQimk8U
— Pats Planet (@PatsPlanet_) January 7, 2026
Meanwhile, Maye delivered his cleanest performance of the year against the Jets. Efficient. In control. Ruthless. That timing mattered. Momentum always does.
Stafford responded Sunday with four touchdowns against Arizona, reminding everyone why he’d led the race in the first place. But Maye didn’t need fireworks. New England had already done enough.
The fourth quarter was mostly academic, and that restraint spoke volumes about where the Patriots believed they stood.
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Mike Vrabel put it plainly when making Maye’s case: “He’s extremely accurate. He’s made the most of every passing opportunity… His ability to extend, use his legs to gain first downs, critical first downs… he’s been everything that we’ve asked.”
What Voters Are Really Weighing
This isn’t just a stat race. It never is. Voters are balancing the strength of the schedule, the supporting casts, and how quarterbacks respond under pressure. Stafford has elite weapons and survived a brutal NFC West. Maye carried a Patriots team many didn’t expect to contend, let alone earn the No. 2 seed.
Former players noticed that difference. J.J. Watt framed it in terms of value, saying that if Maye were removed from New England, the drop would be steeper. Tom Brady leaned the other way, backing Stafford while acknowledging Maye’s future.
The votes were submitted before the playoffs. The outcome is locked. What remains is interpretation.
And that’s the point. The MVP isn’t just about who was best. It’s about who mattered most, week after week, when the pressure was highest. In a season this tight, every ranked vote told part of that story.
