Super Bowl 2022: NFL Announces MVP of Championship Game

The MVP of Super Bowl LVI has been named. Following the Los Angeles Rams’ 23-20 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in the Super Bowl, the NFL announced that Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp has been named MVP. He finished the night with eight receptions for 92 yards and two touchdowns. Kupp’s final catch of the game was the game-winning TD which came with 1:25 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Kupp winning the Super Bowl MVP award is fitting considering the 2021 season he had. The 28-year-old was the best receiver in the NFL, posting 145 receptions for 1,947 yards and 16 touchdowns. And in the postseason, Kupp didn’t slow down as he caught 25 passes for 386 yards and four touchdowns in the three games before the Super Bowl. Kupp won the Offensive Player of the Year award and now joins Joe Montana as the only player in NFL history to win Offensive Player of the Year and Super Bowl MVP in the same season.   

“I’ve got my teammates and my coaches who have made it an absolute joy to come to work every single day,” Kupp said when he won Offensive Player of the Year, per Essentially Sports. “I’ve loved it. And then I mean to the people here, the people sitting in these seats, you guys, I mean, you make work so much fun. So competitive. You make this game so great. Thank you to each one of you for your work. Thank you, guys.”  

Before Super Bowl LVI, there have been 31 quarterbacks that were named MVP. Tom Brady, who recently retired from the NFL, has won the most Super Bowl MVPs with five while Joe Montana is behind Brady with three. Three other players have won the award twice — Bart Starr, Terry Bradshaw and Eli Manning. And when it comes to teams, the Dallas Cowboys have won the award the most as seven players were named Super Bowl MVP. The Cowboys are followed by the Pittsburgh Steelers and New England Patriots with six.   

The Super Bowl MVP trophy is also called the Pete Rozelle Trophy. It is named after Pete Rozelle, the former NFL commissioner who helped get the Super Bowl started in 1970, the same year of the AFL-NFL merger. Rozelle is also responsible for the league growing from 12 teams to 28 and helped with the creation of large television deals.