Update: The NFL officially crowned Matthew Stafford as the 2026 NFL Most Valuable Player, marking a long-awaited milestone after 17 seasons in the league. The announcement came live at NFL Honors in San Francisco, just days before Super Bowl 60.
Beyond the MVP reveal, several other major honors were handed out as the league celebrated standout performances from the 2025 season. Jaxon Smith-Njigba was named NFL Offensive Player of the Year, capping a breakout campaign that firmly established him among the league’s elite playmakers.
On the defensive side, Cleveland Browns linebacker Carson Schwesinger earned NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year honors, recognition that highlighted his immediate impact and rapid rise in his first professional season.
The league also announced its annual FedEx Air & Ground Players of the Year, with Drake Maye, Christian McCaffrey, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba each recognized for their offensive excellence across the season.
In one of the night’s most heartfelt moments, longtime Philadelphia Eagles supporter Ed Callahan was named the NFL Fan of the Year, while Christian McCaffrey also received the league’s Salute to Service Award for his continued impact beyond the field.
With the NFL Honors ceremony complete, the league’s individual awards chapter is officially closed — and full attention now turns to Super Bowl 60, where the season’s final story will be written on the sport’s biggest stage.
The NFL officially closed the book on the 2025 season Thursday night as NFL Honors 2026 unfolded in San Francisco, just days before Super Bowl 60. With the league’s biggest individual awards revealed live, fans tuned in to find out who claimed MVP, which stars took home season-defining honors, and why this year’s ceremony sparked debate well beyond the stage.
Held three days ahead of the Super Bowl, NFL Honors has become the league’s emotional finale — a night where dominant performances are rewarded and careers are shaped. This year’s ceremony delivered on drama early, with major coaching awards, comeback stories, and historic defensive dominance defining the night.
One of the first marquee announcements saw Mike Vrabel named NFL Coach of the Year after engineering a remarkable turnaround in his first season with New England. The Patriots posted a record-tying 10-win improvement, vaulting Vrabel ahead of a strong finalist group that included Seattle’s Mike Macdonald and San Francisco’s Kyle Shanahan.
The comeback narrative of the night belonged to Christian McCaffrey. After a 2024 season derailed by multiple serious injuries, the 49ers star reclaimed elite form, compiling more than 2,100 yards from scrimmage while handling a league-high workload. His resilience and production earned him NFL Comeback Player of the Year, edging out finalists that included Trevor Lawrence and Dak Prescott.
History was made on the defensive side of the ball. Myles Garrett was unanimously voted NFL Defensive Player of the Year after breaking the league’s single-season sack record. His 23-sack campaign left no room for debate, making him only the second player ever to win the award unanimously — a feat previously achieved by J.J. Watt.
The league also introduced a new honor, with Joe Thuney capturing the inaugural Protector of the Year Award. In his first season with Chicago, Thuney anchored an offensive line that didn’t surrender a single sack, providing stability for rookie quarterback Caleb Williams and redefining excellence in trench play.
Among first-year players, Tetairoa McMillan emerged as the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. The Carolina Panthers wide receiver quietly separated himself down the stretch, surpassing 1,000 receiving yards and adding much-needed explosiveness to a struggling offense. He finished ahead of quarterbacks Tyler Shough and Jaxson Dart in a wide-open rookie race.
Off the field, the evening wasn’t without controversy. The Pro Football Hall of Fame’s 2026 class was revealed alongside the awards, drawing immediate reaction for the omission of longtime Patriots head coach Bill Belichick. The decision quickly became one of the most discussed moments of the night, adding an unexpected layer of tension to an otherwise celebratory event.
As anticipation built toward the final award, attention turned to the NFL MVP race. Finalists included quarterbacks Josh Allen, Trevor Lawrence, Drake Maye and Matthew Stafford, alongside McCaffrey. With voting already completed ahead of the ceremony, fans followed live coverage closely as the league prepared to crown its most valuable player.
Over the past two decades, the NFL MVP award has overwhelmingly favored quarterbacks, underscoring how central the position has become to modern football. Of the last 20 MVP winners, 17 have been quarterbacks, with only three running backs breaking through the trend. From Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers dominating the late 2000s and 2010s, to more recent winners like Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen, the award has largely tracked elite quarterback play. The rare exceptions — LaDainian Tomlinson, Adrian Peterson and Christian McCaffrey — stand out precisely because they defied a pass-heavy era, delivering seasons so dominant that voters could not ignore them. That context makes this year’s MVP race especially compelling, with McCaffrey once again challenging a quarterback-dominated field.
NFL Honors 2026 aired live on NBC and the NFL Network, with streaming available on Peacock and NFL+. Hosted by Jon Hamm, the ceremony once again underscored how closely the league now links its awards showcase with Super Bowl week, turning individual recognition into a key moment on the sport’s biggest stage.
For full live results, voting breakdowns, and ongoing updates as Super Bowl 60 approaches, coverage from USA Today’s NFL desk continues to track every major development from awards night.
