Matthew Stafford of the Los Angeles Rams was named NFL Most Valuable Player on Thursday night at the NFL Honors event in San Francisco.
It marks the first time the quarterback has won the award in his 17 NFL seasons, the first 12 spent with the Detroit Lions and the last five with the Rams.
He narrowly edged New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye for the award, finishing with five more points than the Patriots quarterback.
Stafford, who turns 38 on Saturday, also revealed he will return for an
18th season. He hadn't previously committed to return in 2026.
Stafford led the NFL with 4,707 yards and 46 touchdown passes despite playing through back issues. He didn't miss a game and was intercepted eight times in 597 attempts.
Stafford (366 points) received 24 of the 50 first-place votes while Maye (361) got 23. Bills quarterback Josh Allen received two first-place votes and finished third with 91 points. Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert received the other first-place vote.
NFL Honors award winners
Most Valuable Player
--Matthew Stafford, QB, Los Angeles Rams
Offensive Player of the Year
--Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR, Seattle
Defensive Player of the Year
--Myles Garrett, DE, Cleveland
Offensive Rookie of the Year
--Tetairoa McMillan, WR, Carolina
Defensive Rookie of the Year
--Carson Schwesinger, LB, Cleveland
Comeback Player of the Year
--Christian McCaffrey, RB, San Francisco
Coach of the Year
--Mike Vrabel, New England
Assistant Coach of the Year
--Josh McDaniels, New England
Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year
--Bobby Wagner, LB, Washington
--Field Level Media
