NFL MVP 2025-26 Award Winner, Voting Results and Twitter Reaction

At long last, Matthew Stafford is the NFL's MVP.

The Los Angeles Rams quarterback took home the coveted award over New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye. Stafford finished with 24 first-place votes, narrowly beating Maye, who had 23 votes.

Stafford, 37, had received just about every accolade he could coming into the year, including a Super Bowl, three Pro Bowl nods and a Comeback Player of the Year award, but he had never earned the league's highest individual honor.

It became apparent very quickly that Stafford was going to be in the mix for the MVP this year.

Stafford led the league in passing yards (4,707) and touchdowns (46) while throwing just eight interceptions. He had 12 more passing touchdowns than the second-leading quarterback, Jared Goff.

Matthew Stafford's TD Strike 🔥

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Stafford's individual success led to overall success for the Rams. Los Angeles finished the regular season 12-5 and reached the playoffs for a third consecutive season.

The Rams fell short of reaching the Super Bowl, losing to the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Championship.

Stafford had an outstanding season, and what makes it even more impressive is the fact that he was dealing with a serious back injury coming into the year. Luckily for both him and the Rams, he was able to manage that ailment and put together one of the best seasons of his career.

Both Stafford and Maye made strong cases to win MVP this year. Stafford's individual numbers were better, but Maye led the Patriots to a 14-3 record, which was tied for the best in the NFL.

Ultimately, voters favored Stafford's impressive numbers this year.

Stafford, who just wrapped up his 17th NFL campaign, has already made a strong case to make the Hall of Fame, but his case got even stronger after taking home his first MVP.