The Sporting News NFL Player of the Year

Last updated

The Sporting News (formerly Sporting News from 2002 to 2022) began awarding a National Football League (NFL) player of the year award in 1954. From 1970 to 1979, The Sporting News chose American Football Conference (AFC) and National Football Conference (NFC) players of the year, and returned to a single winner in 1980. Beginning in 2008 The Sporting News chose an offensive player of the year and a defensive player of the year. [1] [2]

Contents

Winners

1954–1969

SeasonPlayerPositionTeam
Lou Groza T/K Cleveland
Otto Graham QB Cleveland
Frank Gifford RB NY Giants
Jim Brown FB Cleveland
Jim Brown FB Cleveland
Johnny Unitas QB Baltimore
Norm Van Brocklin QB Philadelphia
Paul Hornung RB Green Bay
Y. A. Tittle QB NY Giants
Y. A. Tittle QB NY Giants
Johnny Unitas QB Baltimore
Jim Brown RB Cleveland
Bart Starr QB Green Bay
Johnny Unitas QB Baltimore
Earl Morrall QB Baltimore
Roman Gabriel QB LA Rams
Sources [1] [3] [4]

1970–1979

SeasonNFCAFC
PlayerPositionTeamPlayerPositionTeam
John Brodie QB San Francisco George Blanda QB/K Oakland
Roger Staubach QB Dallas Bob Griese QB Miami
Larry Brown RB Washington Earl Morrall QB Miami
John Hadl QB LA Rams O. J. Simpson RB Buffalo
Chuck Foreman RB Minnesota Ken Stabler QB Oakland
Fran Tarkenton QB Minnesota O. J. Simpson RB Buffalo
Walter Payton RB Chicago Ken Stabler QB Oakland
Walter Payton RB Chicago Craig Morton QB Denver
Archie Manning QB New Orleans Earl Campbell RB Houston
Ottis Anderson RB St. Louis Dan Fouts QB San Diego

1980–2007

SeasonPlayerTeamPosition
Brian Sipe QB Cleveland
Ken Anderson QB Cincinnati
Mark Moseley K Washington
Eric Dickerson RB LA Rams
Dan Marino QB Miami
Marcus Allen RB LA Raiders
Lawrence Taylor LB NY Giants
Jerry Rice WR San Francisco
Boomer Esiason QB Cincinnati
Joe Montana QB San Francisco
Jerry Rice WR San Francisco
Thurman Thomas RB Buffalo
Steve Young QB San Francisco
Emmitt Smith RB Dallas
Steve Young QB San Francisco
Brett Favre QB Green Bay
Brett Favre QB Green Bay
Barry Sanders RB Detroit
Terrell Davis RB denver
Kurt Warner QB St. Louis
Marshall Faulk RB St. Louis
Marshall Faulk RB St. Louis
Rich Gannon QB Oakland
Peyton Manning QB Indianapolis
Peyton Manning QB Indianapolis
Shaun Alexander RB Seattle
LaDainian Tomlinson RB San Diego
Tom Brady QB New England
Sources [1] [5] [6]

2008–2024

SeasonOffensiveDefensive
PlayerPositionTeamPlayerPositionTeam
Drew Brees QB New Orleans Albert Haynesworth DT Tennessee
Drew Brees QB New Orleans Charles Woodson CB Green Bay
Tom Brady QB New England Clay Matthews OLB Green Bay
Aaron Rodgers QB Green Bay Jared Allen DE Minnesota
Adrian Peterson RB Minnesota J. J. Watt DE Houston
Peyton Manning QB Denver Luke Kuechly OLB Carolina
Aaron Rodgers QB Green Bay J. J. Watt DE Houston
Cam Newton QB Carolina J. J. Watt DE Houston
Tom Brady QB New England Khalil Mack DE Oakland
Antonio Brown QB Pittsburgh Calais Campbell DE Jacksonville
Patrick Mahomes QB Kansas City Aaron Donald DT LA Rams
Lamar Jackson QB Baltimore Stephon Gilmore CB New England
Patrick Mahomes QB Kansas City Aaron Donald DT LA Rams
Jonathan Taylor RB Pittsburgh T. J. Watt OLB Pittsburgh
Justin Jefferson WR Minnesota Nick Bosa DE San Francisco
Tyreek Hill WR Miami Myles Garrett DE Cleveland
Saquon Barkley RB Philadelphia Myles Garrett DE Cleveland
Sources [7] [8] [7] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Archived July 16, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  2. ↑ Barry Wilner (2013-04-04). "Adrian Peterson Wins 2012 Offensive Player Of The Year Award". Huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2016-01-27.
  3. ↑ "Groza Named MVP in Pro Football". The Dayton Daily News. AP. December 20, 1954. p. D-21. Retrieved June 29, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ "Sporting News Names Unitas Pro Football Player Of Year". Carlsbad Current-Argus. January 3, 1960. p. 19. Retrieved June 29, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ "Allen honored". The Galveston Daily News. Associated Press. January 23, 1986. p. 20. Retrieved May 24, 2017– via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ "Taped-up Brady, Patriots begin work in Arizona". The Indianapolis Star. January 29, 2008. p. D3. Retrieved June 14, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
  7. 1 2 Triplett, Mike (January 12, 2010). "New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees named POY by The Sporting News". The Times-Picayune. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
  8. ↑ Bishop, Greg (January 16, 2020). "Albert Haynesworth Doesn't Need Your Love. Just Your Kidney" . Sports Illustrated. Retrieved June 14, 2021. Even then, the man The Sporting News named its Defensive Player of the Year in 2008 seemed worth the headaches.
  9. ↑ Dougherty, Pete (January 14, 2010). "NFL defense late no-call". Green Bay Press-Gazette. p. B-2. Retrieved June 14, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ "Matthews honored". Wisconsin State Journal. January 13, 2011. p. B3. Retrieved June 14, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "NFL Awards 2011". The Sporting News.
  12. ↑ "NFL Awards 2016". The Sporting News.
  13. ↑ "NFL Awards 2017". The Sporting News.
  14. ↑ "NFL Awards 2018". The Sporting News.
  15. ↑ "NFL Awards 2019". The Sporting News.
  16. ↑ "NFL Awards 2020". The Sporting News.
  17. ↑ "NFL awards 2023: Lions, Dolphins clean up in voting for Sporting News' honors". The Sporting News.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.