Yet another season in the NFL is set to begin on September 5th and the odds for the 2024-25 NFL MVP have created a lot of discussion heading into the campaign. There are a lot of familiar faces on this list but also a couple of new ones that took the league by storm last year. Lamar Jackson comes into the season trying to win back-to-back MVP awards as he lands on the board with the seventh-best odds to do so. Everyone can probably guess who’s number one on this list but let’s take a look at who the favorites are to win the award heading into the season.
*via Fanduel (as of 8/30)
2024-25 NFL MVP Odds
Â
Patrick Mahomes (+450)
At this point, it’s just expected that Patrick Mahomes starts every year as the NFL MVP favorite, and rightfully so. Since becoming the starter in 2018, he’s won three Super Bowls, three Super Bowl MVPs, and two regular season MVPs. His most recent regular season award came in 2022 when he threw for over 5,000 yards with 41 touchdowns. Mahomes was the favorite to win his second-consecutive MVP going into last year but lost out to Jackson.
Mahomes comes into this season with two things in focus, winning his third MVP award and leading the Kansas City Chiefs to their third straight Super Bowl victory, which has never been done before. The Chiefs and Mahomes got off to a slow start last season but once they got to the playoffs, they got back to their original selves. He’s expected to come out of the gate better than last year, trying to become only the seventh player in NFL history to win three or more MVPs.
Josh Allen (+800)
Josh Allen has opened up the season as one of the favorites to win NFL MVP for a few years now, including the favorite in 2022-23, but the award has always eluded him. He finished as a runner-up to Aaron Rodgers in 2020, finished third in 2022, and then finished fifth last year. Allen could just never get past Mahomes, Jackson, or Rodgers for the hardware. Nevertheless, he revived the Buffalo Bills franchise after being named starter in 2019. Before he got there, the Bills hadn’t seen a 10-win season since 1999 but every year since 2019, they’ve won anywhere from 10 to 13 games along with being favorites to win the Super Bowl almost every season.
This year, there are some new faces in Buffalo. Allen has a revamped wide receiving core after Stefon Diggs‘ departure (among others). Keon Coleman will now be WR1 after they drafted him 33rd overall this year with the likes of Curtis Samuel, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, and Khalil Shakir behind him. He also still has second-year tight end Dalton Kincaid to throw to, who is poised to break out even more. Despite a new receiving core, Allen is still one of the best playmaking quarterbacks in the game and that alone will have him firmly in the discussion for the MVP.
C.J. Stroud (+1000)
After throwing for 4,108 and 23 touchdowns with only five interceptions last season, C.J. Stroud was named Offensive Rookie of the Year. Because of his burst on the scene, the Houston Texans very much exceeded expectations with a 10-win season and a blowout victory in the wild-card game over the Cleveland Browns. Now they are considered real players in the AFC with a potentially more improved Stroud and company.
Stroud’s connection with his receivers was sure to get even better heading into the season but with the addition of Diggs to this group, the young quarterback is poised to be even more dangerous with another high-end target to throw to. The potential connection between the two raised Stroud’s MVP stock even more. Heading into year two, not many expect one of those “sophomore slumps” but instead to validate himself as one of the best signal-callers in the league.
Joe Burrow (+1000)
Injuries limited Joe Burrow to just 10 games last season, ultimately having season-ending wrist surgery. He comes back on a mission to show people that prior to the injuries that he was one of the most dangerous quarterbacks in the league. When he was healthy, Burrow had the Cincinnati Bengals in heavy contention for Super Bowls, even taking them to one in the 2021-22 season. He also was the biggest threat to Mahomes and the Chiefs, going 3-1 against them and beating them in the AFC Championship Game on his way to that Super Bowl.
If Burrow can stay healthy in 2024, he can pose the biggest threat to Kansas City’s three-peat efforts. He has the best wide receiver tandem in the league to throw to, given Chase returns to the field, and is motivated more than ever coming into the year. No matter who he’s slinging it to, Burrow will always be among the favorites to win the NFL MVP.
Jalen Hurts (+1400)
After how last season went, the Philadelphia Eagles are looking to get back to their 2022 form when they went 14-3 and made it to the Super Bowl. It all starts with Jalen Hurts under center, who is also looking to get back to his 2022 form when he was runner-up for MVP by throwing for 3,701 yards and 22 touchdowns to only six interceptions while also rushing for 13 touchdowns. Last season, he threw for more yards and touchdowns and ran for more touchdowns but the one thing plaguing him was the turnovers, as he threw 15 interceptions.
While Hurts’ numbers weren’t bad last season, he’s looking to control the amount of turnovers. That will be a key to whether or not he can return to being that MVP-caliber player and there’s no reason to think he can’t. With the Eagles coming into the season as one of the top teams in the NFC, adding Saquon Barkley to the backfield, and Kellen Moore now calling the shots on offense, Hurts could very well be set up as one of the favorites to win MVP at the end of the season.
Jordan Love (+1400)
Right there with Hurts in the running for NFL MVP is second-year starter Jordan Love. He got off to a shaky start in 2023 but once he got going in the second half of the season, it was hard to find a better quarterback in the league. From week 11 on, he led the league in passing yards with 2,150 and had an amazing 18:1 touchdown-to-interception ratio while completing 70 percent of his passes. This all while being blitzed at the number one highest rate in the NFL. You could say he was playing at an elite level during that time.
Those numbers made him the highest-paid quarterback in NFL history, getting a four-year, $220M contract with the Green Bay Packers. Now that Love got paid, he will be looking to prove that he’s worth that contract despite people having concerns after just one full season of play. With the talent and traits he possesses, there’s no reason to believe he won’t ascend and stamp himself as a serious MVP candidate in 2024 and beyond.
Next Best Odds:
Lamar Jackson (+1500)
Brock Purdy (+1600)
Tua Tagovailoa (+2000)
Dak Prescott (+2000)
Jared Goff (+2500)
Aaron Rodgers (+2500)
Matthew Stafford (+3000)
Justin Herbert (+3000)
Kirk Cousins (+3000)
Trevor Lawrence (+3000)
Main Image: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
