The Super Bowl Most Valuable Player or Super Bowl MVP, is an award given at the conclusion of the Super Bowl, the National Football League's championship game, to the player deemed to have made the most significant impact on the outcome of the game. The winner is chosen by a panel of members of the media, and the fans. The media panel's ballots count for 80 percent of the votes while the fans' ballots count for 20 percent. The fans may vote online during the game. Prior to Super Bowl XXXV, only the media panel selected the MVP.
The MVP has all but once played for the winning team. Chuck Howley (Super Bowl V MVP) is the only MVP from the losing team. Most MVPs are offensive players playing at positions that score touchdowns: quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers. Of the 42 Super Bowl MVPs, only 8 defensive players (2 of them co-MVPs) have won the recognition. Only once has a special teams player (kick returner Desmond Howard) won the honor. Joe Montana holds the record for earning the most Super Bowl MVPs with three.
Since Super Bowl XXV, the Super Bowl MVP is awarded the Pete Rozelle Trophy, named after the former commissioner of the NFL who served from 1960 to 1989. The award is sponsored by Cadillac and the winner is presented with a new Cadillac automobile of his choice. In previous years, the Super Bowl MVP was awarded a brand new Buick automobile and a watch.
