As part of our week-long project to educate you on Super Bowl history and get you ready for Super Bowl 43 this weekend, yesterday we offered up the Super Bowl winners and losers by year, as well as the list of teams who have won and lost the most Super Bowls.

Today, we are breaking down the history of the Super Bowl MVP award, as well as offering up a prediction as to who will be the MVP of Super Bowl 43.

Before we get into any predictions, let’s get a historical perspective by looking at the Super Bowl MVP winners by year, as presented to you in the table below:

List of Super Bowl MVP by Year

SB#	Year	Player	Team	Opponent	Score
Super Bowl 1	1967	QB - Bart Starr	Packers	Chiefs	35-10
Super Bowl 2	1968	QB - Bart Starr	Packers	Raiders	33-14
Super Bowl 3	1969	QB - Joe Namath	Jets	Colts	16-7
Super Bowl 4	1970	QB - Len Dawson	Chiefs	Vikings	23-7
Super Bowl 5	1971	LB - Chuck Howley	Cowboys	Colts	13-16*
Super Bowl 6	1972	QB - Roger Staubach	Cowboys	Dolphins	24-3
Super Bowl 7	1973	S - Jake Scott	Dolphins	Redskins	14-7
Super Bowl 8	1974	RB - Larry Csonka	Dolphins	Vikings	24-7
Super Bowl 9	1975	RB - Franco Harris	Steelers	Vikings	16-6
Super Bowl 10	1976	WR - Lynn Swann	Steelers	Cowboys	21-17
Super Bowl 11	1977	WR - Fred Biletnikoff	Raiders	Vikings	32-14
Super Bowl 12	1978	DE - Harvey Martin, DT - Randy White	Cowboys	Broncos	27-10
Super Bowl 13	1979	QB - Terry Bradshaw	Steelers	Cowboys	35-31
Super Bowl 14	1980	QB - Terry Bradshaw	Steelers	Rams	31-19
Super Bowl 15	1981	QB - Jim Plunkett	Raiders	Eagles	27-10
Super Bowl 16	1982	QB - Joe Montana	49ers	Bengals	26-21
Super Bowl 17	1983	RB - John Riggins	Redskins	Dolphins	27-17
Super Bowl 18	1984	RB - Marcus Allen	Raiders	Redskins	38-9
Super Bowl 19	1985	QB - Joe Montana	49ers	Dolphins	38-16
Super Bowl 20	1986	DE - Richard Dent	Bears	Patriots	46-10
Super Bowl 21	1987	QB - Phil Simms	Giants	Broncos	39-20
Super Bowl 22	1988	QB - Doug Williams	Redskins	Broncos	42-10
Super Bowl 23	1989	WR - Jerry Rice	49ers	Bengals	20-16
Super Bowl 24	1990	QB - Joe Montana	49ers	Broncos	55-10
Super Bowl 25	1991	RB - Ottis Anderson	Giants	Bills	20-19
Super Bowl 26	1992	QB - Mark Rypien	Redskins	Bills	37-24
Super Bowl 27	1993	QB - Troy Aikman	Cowboys	Bills	52-17
Super Bowl 28	1994	RB - Emmitt Smith	Cowboys	Bills	30-13
Super Bowl 29	1995	QB - Steve Young	49ers	Chargers	49-26
Super Bowl 30	1996	CB - Larry Brown	Cowboys	Steelers	27-17
Super Bowl 31	1997	KR/PR - Desmond Howard	Packers	Patriots	25-21
Super Bowl 32	1998	RB - Terrell Davis	Broncos	Packers	31-24
Super Bowl 33	1999	QB - John Elway	Broncos	Falcons	34-19
Super Bowl 34	2000	QB - Kurt Warner	Rams	Titans	23-16
Super Bowl 35	2001	LB - Ray Lewis	Ravens	Giants	34-7
Super Bowl 36	2002	QB - Tom Brady	Patriots	Rams	20-17
Super Bowl 37	2003	S - Dexter Jackson	Buccaneers	Raiders	48-21
Super Bowl 38	2004	QB - Tom Brady	Patriots	Panthers	32-29
Super Bowl 39	2005	WR - Deion Branch	Patriots	Eagles	24-21
Super Bowl 40	2006	WR - Hines Ward	Steelers	Seahawks	21-10
Super Bowl 41	2007	QB - Peyton Manning	Colts	Bears	29-17
Super Bowl 42	2008	QB - Eli Manning	Giants	Patriots	17-14
Super Bowl 43	2009	WR - Santonio Holmes	Steelers	Cardinals	27-23
Super Bowl 44	2010	QB - Drew Brees	Saints	Colts	31-17

* – Chuck Howley, the 1971 winner, is the only Super Bowl MVP from a losing team. The Cowboys were defeated by the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl V.

* – The Cowboys are also the only team to have Co-MVPS, when Harvey Martin and Randy White split the award in 1978.

* – The Super Bowl MVP breakdown by team goes as follows:

• Dallas Cowboys – 7
• Pittsburgh Steelers, San Francisco 49ers – 5
• Green Bay Packers, New England Patriots, New York Giants, Oakland/LA Raiders, Washington Redskins – 3
• Denver Broncos, Miami Dolphins – 2
• Baltimore Ravens, Chicago Bears, Indianapolis Colts, Kansas City Chiefs, New York Jets, St. Louis Rams, Tampa Bay Buccaneers – 1

* – The Super Bowl MVP breakdown by position goes as follows:

• Quarterback – 22
• Running Back – 7
• Wide Receiver – 5
• Defensive End, Linebackers, Safety – 2
• Cornerback, Defensive Tackle, KR/PR – 1

Based on history, there are a few things that we can reasonably anticipate about who will be the MVP in Super Bowl 43:

• There is better than a 50% chance that the Super Bowl 43 MVP will be the QB from the winning team.
• There is a better than 95% chance that the Super Bowl 43 MVP will be a player from the winning team.
• There is better than a 75% chance that the Super Bowl 43 MVP will be a “skill position” player from the winning team.
• If the MVP does come from the defensive side of the ball, he is usually one of the stars of a historically great defense.

With that being said, if I was forced to bet on whO the Super Bowl 43 MVP will be, my money would be on Ben Roethlisberger. I think that the Steelers are going to win the game, and after Big Ben’s putrid performance in Super Bowl 40, I think he will play well Sunday. Plus, while Arizona’s defense has been solid, they are not great by any stretch of the imagination. Roethlisberger should have a chance to put up pretty good numbers.

However, I would not be surprised to see either James Harrison or Troy Polamalu come away with the trophy. Kurt Warner, while he has been spectacular for most of his career and for most of this season, can be prone to turnovers. Additionally, the Steelers do have a historically great defense. Defensive players from the ’85 Bears and ’01 Ravens won the MVP trophy, and I could see one of the Steelers players getting the award too. Polamalu and Harrison would actually be my #2 and #3 choices for Super Bowl 43 MVP.

Assuming that the Steelers win, and assuming the percentages play out, an offensive player will be the MVP. I know that Hines Ward won the trophy in Super Bowl 40, but Big Ben was just a young pup then. He is absolutely the catalyst of the Steelers offense this year. If he does not play well, Arizona has a chance to win. If he does play well, he will get the requisite numbers to win the award. I don’t see another Steelers offensive player trumping him, unless something fluky happens.

Should the Cardinals somehow with the game, either Kurt Warner or Larry Fitzgerald will come away with the award. I think Fitzgerald would have to just be phenomenal to overcome the whole “storybook” aspect of Warner taking home another MVP trophy. Fitzgerald is certainly capable, but any numbers he gets would also go to Warner. My prediction, if Arizona wins, is that Kurt Warner takes home the trophy.

So, if I was handicapping the race, my Top 5 Players Most Likely to win the Super Bowl 43 MVP list would go something like this:

1. Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers
2. Kurt Warner, Cardinals
3. Troy Polamalu, Steelers
4. James Harrison, Steelers
5. Larry Fitzgerald, Cardinals

What do you think?

Who do you think will be the Super Bowl 43 MVP?

• Ben Roethlisberger
• Kurt Warner
• Troy Polamalu
• James Harrison
• Larry Fitzgerald
• Someone not listed

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