The new NFL season is set to begin this week and while the majority of eyes will be on which team looks the best, there is an equally exciting race brewing for the MVP award for the 2024/25 season.
Baltimore Ravens‘ star Lamar Jackson picked up the award for the league’s most valuable player last time around, continuing the trend of quarterbacks reigning supreme. However, there are several players in the league who have won it before, and others hungry to claim the recognition for the first time in their career which means competition is at an all-time high.
We’ll take a look at the field for the top candidates to win the MVP award for the upcoming campaign, and provide you with our best free NFL betting picks to try and earn you some extra cash while you enjoy the action.
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NFL 2024/25 season information
- Regular Season: Thursday, September 5th 2024 – Sunday, January 5th 2025
- Playoffs Begin: Saturday, January 11th 2025
- Pro Bowl: Sunday, February 2nd 2025
- Super Bowl LIX: Sunday, February 9th 2025
- Defending champions: Kansas City Chiefs
NFL 2024/25 MVP favorites
Below you’ll find a list of the favorites to win the MVP award for the 2024/25 NFL season.
Patrick Mahomes – Kansas City Chiefs – (+525)
In what will come as a surprise to absolutely nobody, two-time MVP and three-time Super Bowl champion Patrick Mahomes is the bookies favorite to win the award once again.
Mahomes ranked sixth in passing yards (4,183) and eighth in touchdown passes (27) with the worst receiving corps he’s ever played with as the Chiefs registered their worst regular season in several years. But when it came to the post-season there was no stopping him, as he ensured that Kansas go down as a dynasty with a second consecutive championship and a third in five years.
Marquise Brown was signed and Xavier Worthy drafted to strengthen the roster, with the latter registering the fastest-ever 40-yard sprint at the NFL Combine, to give Mahomes something different to work with.
While the post-season doesn't usually get considered by most voters, if Mahomes is able to lead his team to a historic three-peat then it will no doubt get noticed by his peers in the NFL. History is obviously against him, but if anyone can do it then Mahomes can, and at +525 the value isn't the worst.
Check out our review for Bovada sports betting here.
Josh Allen – Buffalo Bills – (+800)
After Stefon Diggs was traded to the Houston Texans, Allen’s odds drifted way out to win this award. Buffalo filled the void Diggs left behind with Keon Coleman, the 33rd overall pick in the 2024 draft and are considerably weaker as a result, but that could help Allen in the race for MVP.
Allen was the only player besides Jackson to earn a first-place vote in 2023 when he revived the Bills’ season, and if he is able to find a way to deliver to that level again with a weaker roster then he would surely garner more votes
He also finished third in QBR (69.6) and posted the second-highest completion rate over expected (5%) and third-best EPA per dropback (0.18) of any full-time starter last season.
If Allen can carry this team to another division title in the difficult AFC East, he will surely be in contention to win his first MVP Award, and at +800 there is tremendous value in him doing just that. He needs those around him to step up too though.
Check out our review for BetUS sports betting here.
CJ Stroud – Houston Texans – (+850)
After a sensational rookie campaign in 2023/24, Houston have moved to pair Stroud with Stefon Diggs, and that should see him get even better this year.
A sophomore passer listed among the top three to win the NFL MVP is unheard of, but that’s how impressive he was last year and the expectations this time around are equally as high. Throwing only five interceptions as a rookie was huge, but it will be hard to duplicate, so it will be a real test of his mentality if and when things start to go wrong for him.
If Diggs can help him take another step forward in his career by adding to his 23 touchdown passes, Stroud possesses the quality and poise to live up to the big expectations in his second season in the league. While relying on Diggs means it will be difficult, at +850 there is real value in backing him to make the step up again.
Joe Burrow – Cincinnati Bengals – (+1000)
Burrow has played two full seasons in his four-year career because of a number of injuries, but in those two healthy campaigns he has two division titles, a Comeback Player of the Year Award, a Super Bowl appearance, and a fourth-place finish in MVP voting.
Despite missing the 2023 season, he comes into the 2024 season as the fourth favorite which shows just how good he is. It is by no means a given, but if he can rediscover his top level then he could well be in with a shout for the award too, especially since everyone loves a comeback story.
Burrow has been a guy you should never count out for a long time, and it feels like he’s in store for a huge year. Winning the AFC North over current reigning NFL MVP Lamar Jackson will go a long way in helping him secure votes, and at +1000 he is definitely worth a look.
