2022 Super Bowl MVP Odds: Can A Longshot Win The Award?

Sports bettors all around the country are getting ramped up for one of the biggest days of the year, Super Bowl Sunday. According to a report from the American Gaming Association, $7.61 billion dollars is expected to be wagered on this year’s Super Bowl. Sportsbooks offer a variety of different ways to bet on The Big Game, one of those being Super Bowl MVP odds.

Let’s take a look at Super Bowl 56 odds for and candidates to win the award this Sunday.

Super Bowl MVP odds

View more MVP odds with our NFL futures odds comparison tool

Super Bowl MVP is given to the player who had the greatest impact on the game. With the league being so quarterback-driven today, it’s only right that the two signal callers have the best odds of coming away with the MVP award, especially with these two teams. 

Both Quarterbacks have been arguably the biggest reasons for each team’s success this season. Stafford has proven to be the missing piece to get this talented Rams roster to the top of the mountain, while Burrow has been nothing short of a revelation in his second season in Cincinnati, resurrecting a franchise that hadn’t won a playoff game since 1991.

The safest bet for Super Bowl MVP is usually going to be the Quarterback of the team you think is going to win

In fact, quarterbacks have won 30 of the 54 MVP awards handed out in NFL history. 

And as you can see, the best odds for Joe Burrow and Matthew Stafford can be found at Caesars Sportsbook.

Recently though, there have been three non-QBs to win the award in the last eight Super Bowls.

Let’s be honest, betting on the Quarterback to win the MVP isn’t any fun, and we didn’t become sports bettors just to play it safe.

There are plenty of other star players in this matchup that are certainly capable of taking home MVP honors. These picks will give you a better bang for your buck.

Best SB 56 MVP Values, Picks

Cooper Kupp (+700) – My personal favorite pick. Kupp has been on a tear for basically the entire season as he led the league in catches, yards, and receiving touchdowns. His run has continued into these playoffs as he once again leads the league in receptions and yards and is only one touchdown behind Bills WR, Gabriel Davis, who will not be playing on Sunday. History seems to be in favor of Kupp and the Rams in this game. There have only been three seasons where the league’s leading receiver has made it to the Super Bowl. All three times, the receiver’s team won the game. Kupp is fresh off 11 receptions for 142 yards and 2 touchdowns. If he has a performance similar to that, there’s a good chance the Rams are going to win and he will likely be crowned MVP.

Aaron Donald (+1800) – Donald has been regarded as the best defensive player in the game for quite some time now, and has the ability to completely wreck a game plan by himself. There have been only two times that a defensive lineman has won the award. Richard Dent won it for Chicago in Super Bowl XX recording two sacks and two forced fumbles in the game. Harvey Martin and Randy White shared the award in Super Bowl XII for leading a Dallas defense that forced the Denver Broncos into eight turnovers. For Donald to win it this year, it’s likely going to take a low scoring affair, and he’s going to have to make a large impact in the form of sacks, TFLs, and forced fumbles.

Ja’marr Chase (+2500) – Chase has exploded on the scene in his rookie season. The chemistry between him and former college teammate Joe Burrow is undeniable. Look no further than their week 17 matchup against Kansas City when Chase torched the Chiefs secondary for an absurd 11 catches 266 yards and 3 touchdowns. That was one of many outstanding performances from Chase this year, and if he can put up numbers like that in the Big Game he could certainly garner some MVP consideration.

Sneaky Longshots

Von Miller (+4500) – Miller is actually the most recent defensive player to win Super Bowl MVP after helping the Broncos defeat the Carolina Panthers in 2016. He racked up 2.5 sacks and forced two fumbles that led to Broncos touchdowns in that game. It’s going to take a performance like that again if he wants to take home his second Super Bowl MVP award.

Tee Higgins (+6000) – One thing we’ve seen a lot this year with the Bengals is that when teams make a concerted effort to take away Chase, Tee Higgins fills the void quite nicely. It was evident just recently in the AFC Championship game. From the beginning, the Chiefs made it apparent that Chase wasn’t going to beat them. So, Burrow went to Higgins and he had a big game with 6 catches for 103 yards. He likely won’t see much of Ramsey. So, he could be in line for another big game this week.

Jalen Ramsey (+10000) – Ramsey is likely going to follow Chase for most of the game. He’s arguably the top cover corner in all of football and does not shy away from any challenge. If he can lock Chase down and come up with a crucial turnover, he could become the first Cornerback to ever win the MVP award.

Trey Hendrickson (+10000) – Hendrickson was a huge add on the defensive side for the Bengals this offseason. He led the team in sacks with 13 in the regular season. Much like Donald, if he can disrupt the Rams passing attack and force a turnover or two on the way to a Bengals win, he’d have a chance.

Evan McPherson (+15000) – Surprisingly, there’s quite a few public bettors putting money on Cincinnati’s rookie kicker to become the first kicker in NFL history to win the MVP. He’s the fifth most popular pick on DraftKings garnering 7% of the handle and 6% of all bets. He was a huge part of their win against the Tennessee Titans in the divisional round as he knocked in 4 long field goals to help lift them to victory. A performance like that this week could result in never before seen history.

Where To Bet On Super Bowl MVP

Super Bowl MVP History

The award debuted in the first-ever Super Bowl in 1967 when the Green Bay Packers took on the Kansas City Chiefs. Packer Quarterback, Bart Starr, won the award after leading Green Bay to a 35-10 victory with 250 passing yards and two TDs. The following season he would win the award again after leading the Packers to another title.

That would set the precedent for this award to largely be a Quarterbacks award. Only seven running backs, seven wide receivers, ten defensive players and Desmond Howard, a kick returner, have won the award without playing the QB position.

Howard impacted the 1997 Super Bowl with 244 return yards and a 99 yard return touchdown that helped the Packers defeat the Patriots 35-21. In today’s game, kick returns are not nearly as common.

Tom Brady has the most Super Bowl MVPs all time with 5. Only four other players in the history of the NFL even have two or more MVPs: Joe Montana (3), Terry Bradshaw (2), Eli Manning (2), Bart Starr (2). Notice a trend? All QBs.

The award has been dominated by QBs since the beginning, and in some cases other positions have gotten robbed by the signal caller. Look no further than Super Bowl 51. The infamous 28-3 comeback from Brady and the Patriots. I know that Brady was incredible in the comeback, throwing for 466 yards and 2 TDs. But, the performance by running back James White was so much more worthy of the MVP award that year. White set a Super Bowl record with 14 receptions for 110 yards. He tallied 3 total touchdowns, including the game winner. The only overtime touchdown ever scored in Super Bowl history.

The fact that someone can have a performance as prolific as that, and still get overlooked for the MVP award is why I say betting on the Quarterbacks is the safe play. The reality is, these receivers can’t have a big day if the Quarterback can’t get them the ball. This makes it difficult for them to truly outshine the guys under center, but it can happen. 

Three years ago, Julian Edleman took home the award over Brady as he caught 10 balls for 141 yards. Edelman was really the only consistent form of offense for either side in a game that ended by a score of 13-3.

This is the biggest game of the season. This is the reason we watch the sport, to see the last two teams standing after the long, grueling regular season. One thing’s for sure, anything goes.

It’s going to come down to who makes the winning plays. Who makes the big catch? Who breaks the long run? Who causes the key turnover? Who leads the final drive? Which player can have the biggest impact on Sunday’s game?

That will be your Super Bowl 56 MVP.