Can anyone confirm the NFL MVP voting process?

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

The award will not be announced until Super Bowl weekend. Several people have said that the votes themselves do not have to be sent in until then (which means that a player who gets hot in the playoffs could overtake Brady.) Is there any evidence of this? Did the media cast their ballots now, at the end of the season, and we would just wait for the announcement at the Super Bowl?

If it's the case where ballots are submitted and locked-up until a later announcement date, that's pretty standard practice in other leagues.

However, if they are actually waiting to vote until after the playoffs? That has never been done in any sport and encourages bias. You are voting for the NFL Regular Season MVP- not the guy who has a huge playoff game and is suddenly all the hype.

Anyone know conclusively what they are doing?

 

[BradyManny]

That is news to me that the voting can happen until then. I believe Peter King said the voting took place this week in his MMQB article...

UPDATE: Yup:

MVP Watch

We have a winner. When I send my Associated Press ballot in this week, there won't be much mystery about the Most Valuable Player. Tom Brady should win it handily for the second time in his career.


Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/peter_king/01/02/week-17/index.html#ixzz1ABpbe7lt

Now, I don't know if this means he has to send in the ballot this week, or if he is out of habit.

 

[WhiZa]

That is a good question. With the NFL nothing would surprise.

 

[strngplyr]

I'm pretty sure voting is finishing now, or already submitted. I think it's just some stupid marketing thing by waiting until the SB. I really don't see the point, for the past however many seasons it's been a regular season award, no idea why they'd wait until the final POST season game to announce it. I can't find any articles stating the criteria for it has changed so I have to assume it should still be based on regular season.

 

[Mogamedogz]

Relax boys... safe to say Brady can start making space for it in the cabinet. That thing is sewn up like a 3 year olds favorite Teddy Bear.

 

[Pats305]

There's nothing to worry about. I'm 100% sure Brady will win it.

 

[juny]

Any chance this could be a distraction if the MVP just happens to be starting in the Super Bowl?

 

[Pats305]

If voting has been already done, then Brady will definitely win the MVP award. If it's done a week before the Super Bowl, I think he'll still win. Only Michael Vick having an OUTSTANDING performance at all the Eagles' playoff games would prevent Brady from getting the trophy. And when I say OUTSTANDING, I mean PERFECT (no INT's, good QB Rating, Eagles making it to the Super Bowl).

 

[patriotscpfc]

Funny how they would never do it during the playoffs when the Choker Manning was leading the voting at the end of the Regular Season

 

[Guts]

Brees or to an extend Favre deserved it that year IMO. But to the point I think it's already settled Brady is the MVP.

 

[mgteich]

Awards are distractions to the fans, not the players.

 

[Ron Sellers]

All the awards should be voted on prior to the first playoff game. Doesn't matter if it is MVP, Coach of the Year, Offensive/Defensive Player of the Year, Offensive/Defensive Rookie of the Year, Comeback Player, GM, etc. These are individual awards so you have to end the time when they are being judged at the same time; no leaving the ballots open after the playoffs start.

Let's take Brady and the MVP out of it; let's say we are discussing and voting on Defensive Rookie of the Year. If Devin McCourty goes out and has three incredible playoff games, that would not be fair to take those performances into consideration in comparison to Ndamukong Suh, who was on a team that was not in the post-season.

As far as making the announcement during the Super Bowl, I don't understand that. The NFL has a captive audience for that game anyways; they don't need any extra hype for that event. With the Pro Bowl being moved up there's no longer anything going on the week after the Super Bowl. To me from a business perspective it would make more sense to put on an hour long presentation show on the NFLN the week following the Super Bowl. They could even give post-season awards at the same time.

The kicker in all this is that some conspiracy theorists will think the voting may be rigged because of the delay, but if that was the case that could happen regardless of when the announcement is made. The only downside is that people are talking about the individual awards for a month rather than what should arguably be the eleven best games of the NFL season.

 

[convertedpatsfan]

It would be ridiculous if voters were allowed to hold their ballots throughout the play-offs. Then again, considering we vote for the Pro Bowlers around the halfway point of the season and conclude voting before the regular season even ends, nothing would surprise me.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

This is just another ploy by the king of NFL marketing (Goodell) to prop up the NFLN. Normally the AP simply announces the selections. This way he can get lots of folks to tune in to NFLN on SB Sunday when they otherwise might be watching another network's pre game blather...

That's why he moved the pro bowl to the week in between the conference championships and the SB. Never dawned on him that several of his marquee starters might be unavailable due to a committment to play in a more important game the following Sunday. Last year when he also moved the game to the SB host city he actually made the starters show up for intros even if they were supposed to be traveling and practicing with their SB team... This year with the game back in Hawaii even he couldn't fathom that...

It's too bad because the players want it in Hawaii and want it as an exotic post season paid vacation for themselves and family and it was always neat for the SB winners to show up and get their props. But like everything else in Goodell's NFL it's all about TV ratings and marketing. And if you're a player who the hell wants to show up and play a game in say Indianapolis next February?? Or at the Meadowlands in the middle of winter?? LOL And if they want to play more games overseas why not the Pro Bowl? Europeans are mad for paying top dollar to watch uncompetitive play and at least with this cast and format they'd be guaranteed a high scoring affair...