We are three days away from Super Bowl 51, and plenty of money is already coming in on a variety of prop bets. One that is always interesting is the MVP award.
We often see random heroes develop out of nowhere in the Super Bowl, but more often than not, the quarterback position is the primary winner. Over the first 50 Super Bowls, 51 MVPs have been awarded (Randy White and Harvey Martin were co-MVPs at Super Bowl 12). 27 of those 51 have gone to quarterbacks, including five of the last seven.
It is no surprise then that the largest chunk of bets thus far have been on the two quarterbacks. According to Bovada.lv, 27 percent of the betting has been on Tom Brady, and 20 percent has been on Matt Ryan. The remaining top five are wide receiver Julio Jones (8 percent), running back LeGarrette Blount (5 percent), and running back Devonta Freeman (5 percent).
Julio Jones is currently installed at 9/1 odds, and might be the best of the more high profile “sleepers.” He is always a possibility to go off for big yardage and scores. I was talking with Jon Campbell from Odds Shark this morning, and he mentioned Martellus Bennett. You can get him at 50/1 at Bovada. He is dealing with a knee injury, but is always an intriguing thread.
Aside from the quarterbacks, who do you like as a potential MVP? Here are the full list of odds.
Super Bowl 51 - Odds to Win MVP
Tom Brady (NE): 7/5
Matt Ryan (ATL): 5/2
Julio Jones (ATL): 9/1
LeGarrette Blount (NE): 16/1
Julian Edelman (NE): 16/1
Devonta Freeman (ATL): 16/1
Dion Lewis (NE): 16/1
Chris Hogan (NE): 25/1
Vic Beasley (ATL): 40/1
Tevin Coleman (ATL): 40/1
Martellus Bennett (NE): 50/1
Mohamed Sanu (ATL): 50/1
Matt Bryant (ATL): 66/1
Malcom Butler (NE): 66/1
Taylor Gabriel (ATL): 66/1
Stephen Gostkowski (NE): 66/1
Austin Hooper (ATL): 66/1
Logan Ryan (NE): 66/1
James White (NE): 66/1
Devin McCourty (NE): 75/1
Malcolm Mitchell (NE): 100/1
Danny Amendola (NE): 150/1
Patrick Chung (NE): 150/1
Dwight Freeney (ATL): 150/1
Dont'a Hightower (NE): 150/1
Deion Jones (ATL): 150/1
Chris Long (NE): 150/1
Keanu Neal (ATL): 150/1
Rob Ninkovich (NE): 100/1
Levine Toilolo (ATL): 150/1
Eric Weems (ATL): 150/1
Field: 25/1