Ranking Every Super Bowl MVP: From Best to Worst

From Joe Montana to Fred Biletnikoff.

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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With Super Bowl XLVIII mere days away, the countdown is already on to predict who the next MVP is going to be. If you happen to be a betting person, the Broncos’ Peyton Manning currently stands as the runaway favorite to take home the award at 11/10 odds, while on the Seattle side the favorite is a tie between quarterback Russell Wilson and running back Marshawn Lynch, who are both currently at 15/4.

Like in most matters related to football, the quarterbacks tend to be the ones who get all the glory. Of the 47 Super Bowl MVPs, the award has gone to QBs 26 times; for comparison, the next closest position is running back, which has seen seven players given the honor and requisite trip to Disney World. Icons like Bart StarrTerry BradshawJoe Montana, and Jerry Rice are but a few of the all-time greats to have taken home the MVP trophy, and most of them are in the Hall of Fame (or will be, when their careers end).

But not all performances are created equal. Sometimes a player may put up pedestrian numbers but make huge plays, sometimes they put up big numbers in a blowout, and sometimes they may simply put up the least-bad numbers in a sloppy game. From best to worst, we’re Ranking Every Super Bowl MVP.

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1. Steve Young, Super Bowl XXIX (1994)

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2. Joe Montana, Super Bowl XXIV (1989)

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3. Phil Simms, Super Bowl XXI (1986)

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4. Marcus Allen, Super Bowl XVIII (1983)

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5. Jerry Rice, Super Bowl XXIII

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6. Lynn Swann, Super Bowl X

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7. Doug Williams, Super Bowl XXII

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8. Terrell Davis, Super Bowl XXXII

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9. John Riggins, Super Bowl XVII

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10. Kurt Warner, Super Bowl XXXIV

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11. Terry Bradshaw, Super Bowl XIII

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12. Desmond Howard, Super Bowl XXXI

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13. Tom Brady, Super Bowl XXXVIII

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14. Joe Montana, Super Bowl XIX

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15. Eli Manning, Super Bowl XLVI

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16. Emmitt Smith, Super Bowl XXVIII

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17. Jim Plunkett, Super Bowl XV

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18. Troy Aikman, Super Bowl XXVII

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19. Drew Brees, Super Bowl XLIV

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20. John Elway, Super Bowl XXXIII

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21. Tom Brady, Super Bowl XXXVI

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22. Larry Csonka, Super Bowl VIII

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23. Franco Harris, Super Bowl IX

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24. Eli Manning, Super Bowl XLII

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25. Terry Bradshaw, Super Bowl XIV

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26. Aaron Rodgers, Super Bowl XLV

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27. Santonio Holmes, Super Bowl XLIII

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28. Richard Dent, Super Bowl XX

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29. Bart Starr, Super Bowl I

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30. Hines Ward, Super Bowl XL

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31. Joe Montana, Super Bowl XVI

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32. Bart Starr, Super Bowl II

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33. Joe Flacco, Super Bowl XLVII

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34. Roger Staubach, Super Bowl VI

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35. Len Dawson, Super Bowl IV

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36. Peyton Manning, Super Bowl XLI

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37. Larry Brown, Super Bowl XXX

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38. Harvey Martin and Randy White, Super Bowl XII

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39. Deion Branch, Super Bowl XXXIX

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40. Ottis Anderson, Super Bowl XXV

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41. Dexter Jackson, Super Bowl XXXVII

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42. Joe Namath, Super Bowl III

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43. Ray Lewis, Super Bowl XXXV

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44. Chuck Howley, Super Bowl V

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45. Jake Scott, Super Bowl VII

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46. Mark Rypien, Super Bowl XXVI

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47. Fred Biletnikoff, Super Bowl XI

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