Aaron Rodgers is widely expected to be named the NFL MVP on Thursday.
The Packers quarterback passed for 37 touchdowns with 4,115 passing yards and just four interceptions while leading Green Bay to the No. 1 seed in the NFC and a record of 13-3 in games he started.
Rodgers is already coming off a season in which, at age 36, he earned his third MVP trophy. Though his numbers in 2021 didn't quite match that of the 2020 campaign, he is once again looked at as the favorite to again receive the honor of AP NFL MVP.
Few have ever been named MVP in back-to-back seasons. Sporting News dives into the history of the players that have earned the honor in consecutive seasons.
MORE: Why Aaron Rodgers will win MVP over Tom Brady, despite some voter reservations
NFL back-to-back MVP winners
There have only been four players to be named the MVP in back-to-back seasons. Only one has been a consecutive winner at two separate points in his career, and only one player has won more than two in a row.
| Player | Position | Team | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jim Brown | Fullback | Browns | 1957-58 |
| Joe Montana | Quarterback | 49ers | 1989-90 |
| Brett Favre | Quarterback | Packers | 1995-97 |
| Peyton Manning | Quarterback | Colts | 2003-04 |
| Peyton Manning | Quarterback | Colts | 2008-09 |
In the first two years of the AP NFL MVP, fullback Jim Brown was named the winner of the award in both. In back-to-back seasons, he was the rushing leader with 942 yards (1957) and 1,527 (1958) and rushing TD leader with nine (1957) and 17 (1958). In 1958, no other player had more than 800 rushing yards or double-digit touchdowns on the ground.
Joe Montana was the first quarterback to win two straight MVPs when he had back-to-back seasons with at least 3,500 passing yards and 26 touchdown passes.
Brett Favre became the first player not only to win MVPs in both seasons, but also win with a majority of the vote share as he had well over 50 percent in both 1995 and 1996. Then, in 1997, he tied with Lions running back Barry Sanders, making him the only quarterback to win the award in three straight seasons.
Peyton Manning tied with Steve McNair in 2003 for the AP NFL MVP, but was a near-unanimous MVP the next year when he received 47 of the 48 total votes. Four years later, Manning was back at the podium accepting an MVP for the first of two straight years when he received 64 percent of the vote in 2008 and 79 percent in 2009.
Since Manning, no player has won the award in back-to-back years. Only two players have even been finalists in back-to-back years. Manning finished second in 2012 and won in 2013. Tom Brady was a finalist each year from 2013 through 2017, with him winning the honor in the final year.
Who has the most NFL MVPs?
Should Rodgers win the award, he would stand alone — in second place.
| Player | Wins | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Peyton Manning | 5 | 2003, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2013 |
| Aaron Rodgers | 3 | 2011, 2014, 2020 |
| Tom Brady | 3 | 2007, 2010, 2017 |
| Brett Favre | 3 | 1995, 1996, 1997 |
| Jim Brown | 3 | 1957, 1958, 1965 |
| Johnny Unitas | 3 | 1959, 1964, 1967 |
| Kurt Warner | 2 | 1999, 2001 |
| Steve Young | 2 | 1992, 1994 |
| Joe Montana | 2 | 1989, 1990 |
Manning's five remain the high bar to reach. Rodgers is currently in a tie with Brady, Favre, Brown and Johnny Unitas as the only other players in NFL history to win the AP NFL MVP at least three times.
Rodgers would also be the second-oldest quarterback to win the MVP. Rodgers turned 38 in December and was 37 for most of the season. When Manning won the 2013 honor, he was 37 for the entire year. The only player older than either of them to win it was Brady in 2017, when he was 40.
