Stand up for the facts!
Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy.
We need your help.
I would like to contribute
Looking for a good bet? Super Bowl MVP is likely to be a quarterback
The pre-game punditry is rampant ahead of Super Bowl XLVIII (A.K.A. 48). Who’s going to win? Who’s going to be the game’s most valuable player? Let’s hypothesize!
NFL Hall of Fame running back Marshall Faulk says the MVP pick is "already etched in stone."
Obviously, it’s going to be Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning, he said during a face-off with Michael Irvin on the NFL Network. Faulk laid out pretty compelling evidence to make his case.
"Quarterbacks, they have won the MVP more than 50 percent of the time," he said.
Someone on Twitter heard Faulk’s claim and asked us if it is correct.
Sign up for PolitiFact texts
Turns out Faulk is right.
Of the 47 Super Bowls, 26 quarterbacks have walked away with MVP honors, way more than any other position, according to an ESPN tally.
Featured Fact-check
Victors include multiple winners such as Green Bay’s Bart Starr, Pittsburgh’s Terry Bradshaw, and San Francisco’s Joe Montana, as well as recent repeat winners in New England’s Tom Brady and the New York Giants’ Eli Manning.
Peyton Manning could join the two-time MVP club Sunday night. He won the award for Super Bowl XLI in 2007 after passing for 247 yards and a touchdown against the Chicago Bears.
For his MVP pick, Irvin chose Broncos wide receiver Wes Welker. Wide receivers and running backs are the next most likely positions for MVP, but they far and away trail the quarterbacks. (It’s a lot tougher for defense. The last defensive player to win the award was Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety Dexter Jackson in 2003.)
We rate Faulk’s claim True.
Our Sources
ESPN list of Super Bowl MVPs
NFL Network, "M&M: Super Bowl XLVIII MVP prediction," Jan. 28, 2014
Browse the Truth-O-Meter
More by Katie Sanders
Looking for a good bet? Super Bowl MVP is likely to be a quarterback
Support independent fact-checking.
Become a member!
In a world of wild talk and fake news, help us stand up for the facts.