Super Bowl Mvp Voting, Explained: How It Works As Sam Darnold Leads Favorites

Every player on a Super Bowl-winning team gets a share of the credit for winning the championship, but only one can be the big game's Most Valuable Player. Who will that be this year?

Before the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks kick off Super Bowl 60 in Santa Clara, California, Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold is the betting favorite to win Super Bowl MVP this year. Given that 34 of the 59 Super Bowl MVPs in history have been quarterbacks, Darnold is the safest bet as the quarterback of the team that's the betting favorite to win this year's NFL championship game.

With quarterback being the most-awarded position for the award, it's logical that Patriots quarterback Drake Maye is right behind Darnold in betting odds for Super Bowl 60 MVP. Behind the two quarterbacks in betting odds are other offensive standouts from each team.

Before the big game, USA TODAY Sports is giving its readers a closer look at how the prestigious award is determined at the conclusion of the Super Bowl.

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Super Bowl MVP voting

The vote for Super Bowl MVP consists partly of a fan vote and mostly of a vote by 16 media members.

Fans are responsible for 20% of the Super Bowl MVP vote on NFL.com. The remaining 80% of the vote is determined by 16 members of a media panel, who submit their ballots around the 2-minute warning at the end of the game.

Members of the panel can pick one player from each team if they so choose, though the ballot will only count for the selected player on the winning team. They also may change their selection if there is a late play that heavily impacts the outcome.

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Super Bowl MVP odds

According to BetMGM Sportsbook, these are the favorites for this year's Super Bowl MVP award ahead of kickoff

• Seahawks QB Sam Darnold: +115
• Patriots QB Drake Maye: +230
• Seahawks WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba: +500
• Seahawks RB Kenneth Walker III: +700
• Patriots RB Rhamondre Stevenson: +3000
• Seahawks WR Rashid Shaheed: +3300
• Patriots WR Stefon Diggs: +5000

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Super Bowl MVP 2026: How voting works, odds for Patriots-Seahawks