No, that is not a typo in the title. Daniel Stephen Jones III has won the Nickelodeon Valuable Player award for Week 1 of the 2025 season, and was promptly sent the prestigious award and its accompanying slime.
Instead of being slimed himself, Jones teamed up with former NVP Jonathan Taylor to cover a menace who has been on a pie-ing rampage throughout Colts offices for a while now: Blue. The 3x NFL Mascot of the Year was like many-a-defender, caught unaware as Taylor got Blue’s attention on him, enabling Jones to surprise with a jar of slime from above.
Slime pranks aside, Jones earned this award from a strong Week 1 performance in his Colts debut:
- 22/29 Passes Completed (75.9%)
- 272 Passing Yards
- 1 Passing TD
- 7 Carries
- 26 Rushing Yards
- 2 Rushing TDs
The NVP has
been awarded weekly since the 2021 season on Nickelodeon’s NFL Slimetime show, and this marks the 6th time an Indianapolis Colt has been named NVP:
- Jonathan Taylor Week 11, 2021 for his 204 yard and 5 TD game vs the Bills
- Jonathan Taylor Week 10, 2022 for his 163 yard and 3 TD game vs the Raiders
- Gardner Minshew Week 13, 2023 for his 312 passing yard and 2 TD game in an overtime win vs the Titans
- Gardner Minshew Pro Bowl 2023 named NVP of NVPs for the 2023 season
- Jonathan Taylor Week 16, 2024 for his 218 yard and 3 TD game vs the Titans
Jones himself previously won the NVP award in the 2022 Wildcard Round for his 24/35 (68.6%) Passing, 301 Pass Yards, 2 Pass TD, 78 Rush Yards performance in his first career playoff win against the Minnesota Vikings. He joins Derrick Henry as the only individual player who has won the award on two different teams.
