Published by: Valdemar Carnegie
Updated: 5:04 PM EST, February 8, 2025
Original Photo: Shawn Hubbard/Baltimore Ravens
Josh Allen won the 2024-25 NFL MVP award after being a finalist last year. His victory has raised questions about the award’s criteria and the voters’ qualifications. Fans and analysts alike are asking, “What are the criteria to win MVP?” and “What makes current voters eligible?”
Lamar Jackson is the first quarterback in 11 seasons to be named first-team All-Pro and not win MVP. The last time this occurred was in 2012, but Adrian Peterson won MVP that year after rushing for 2,097 yards. This year’s situation raises questions because Allen was voted second-team All-Pro. Jackson and Allen play the same position, so how can the second-best player at their position be voted MVP? The same voters select both the MVP and the AP All-Pro teams.
This year has seen an unusual number of voters publicly defending their choices. Analysts Emmanuel Acho and Dan Orlovsky explained their votes for Allen. “All-Pro is for who had the best season—you would go Lamar Jackson,” Acho said on his show, The Facility. “MVP is who had the most valuable season, and to me, Josh Allen had the most valuable season.”
Orlovsky, on The Dan Patrick Show, said, “I think we’ve gotten away from the real meaning of it—how you perform, who you do it with, and who you do it against.” He added, “If we’re just going to take the quarterback with the best stats, there’s no need for a voter.”
Both Acho and Orlovsky confirmed they voted Allen second-team All-Pro and Jackson first-team. It makes little sense for someone to be voted second at their position and then MVP of the entire league. Allen had a great year and is deserving of his MVP, but if he’s the MVP, he should have been first-team All-Pro.
Side note: If Saquon Barkley won MVP, fans probably wouldn’t be as upset since it has happened before. Adrian Peterson had a historic season and won over a first-team All-Pro quarterback(Peyton Manning), setting a recent precedent.
It has also been revealed that former player Jim Miller gave Jackson a fourth-place vote. With five finalists—four of them quarterbacks—this has fans questioning Miller’s qualifications as an NFL Honors voter.
Congratulations to Allen on a well-deserved MVP and an incredible season. His performance was outstanding from start to finish. With that said, should the voting system be changed? Do you think the current process is right? Or is there a better way to determine the league’s most valuable player?