As the 2023-24 National Football League season ended, critics and fans were left with the opportunity to reflect upon the year’s biggest moments, such as pop star Taylor Swift and Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce’s budding romance, or how the Dallas Cowboys managed to lose once again in the divisional round. Or when when Patrick Mahomes, defying all odds, pulled off not only a Super Bowl victory, but earned the Super Bowl Most Valuable Player award as well.
In recent years, the NFL MVP has been regarded by fans as an award predominantly given to quarterbacks. But it wasn’t always this way. Before the year 2000, the MVP award was given to multiple other positions, including placekickers, who would never be considered to be a candidate for the MVP award this year.
Senior and varsity football player Watson Koegler said although quarterbacks are invaluable to a team’s success, the MVP award should be more open to other positions.
“Just off of how football works, everything that goes good or bad for a team is usually put on the quarterback or coach,” Koegler said. “But players like Tyreek Hill and Christian McCaffrey have a very similar impact on the game than quarterbacks do, if not more.”
Koegler also said this tradition may not accurately reflect team dynamics and fails to properly acknowledge the contributions made by other players.
“(Hill and McCaffrey) are the best players on their team, and even the best players in the league, but they have no shot (at winning MVP) because they aren’t playing quarterback,” Koegler said. “For these positions, it can be degrading knowing that you are not even able to compete for the MVP award just because you’re not a quarterback.”
Seeing how the MVP is one of the most prestigious awards given out in the NFL, Science teacher and San Francisco 49ers fan Michael Lupoli said there are cases to be made that the only position it should be designated to is the QB.
Lupoli also said restricting the MVP award to quarterbacks makes sense because the skill it takes to be a quality quarterback is unparalleled.
“Since quarterbacks have to touch the ball on practically every play and are often making critical decisions, (his job) can greatly affect the outcome of the game,” Lupoli said. “There are many more opportunities for a quarterback to make a mistake that would hurt their team, and many more opportunities to play impressively and really help their team. In other skill positions, it’s less frequent that they touch the ball, and while a great player can influence the game, there are just fewer opportunities to do so compared to a quarterback.”
Varsity tight end and 49ers fan Joseph Kessler said the title of MVP has shifted from its original purpose as a skill award to becoming a means of advertisement for the NFL.
“(Quarterbacks) are leaders and are involved in every offensive play,” Kessler said. “When that happens, they become the center of attention, making them a perfect marketing spotlight for the NFL to grow as a league.”
