Patrick Mahomes won the 2020 Super Bowl MVP award less than 48 hours ago after leading the Kansas City Chiefs to a 31-20 victory over the San Francisco 49ers. Now, he’s already the favorite to pick up the league’s Most Valuable Player honor next season as well.
The Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook posted its opening odds for betting on the 2020 NFL MVP award, with Mahomes coming in at the top of the board.
Jackson Second Choice After 2019 Campaign
The SuperBook opened Mahomes as a 7/1 favorite to pick up the honor, with those odds quickly coming down to 4/1 on Monday. Mahomes already owns one regular-season MVP trophy, having won the award in 2018.
Those are the same odds Mahomes opened at last season. Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson took home the trophy instead, after initially opening as a 100/1 longshot.
Jackson is now a 6/1 pick to win the 2020 MVP. Russell Wilson (10/1) and Deshaun Watson (12/1) are among the other top choices for the award.
All of the top contenders for the MVP award are quarterbacks. The top non-QBs on the list are Christian McCaffrey and Ezekiel Elliott, both of whom are listed at 30/1.
According to Ed Salmons, vice president of risk for the SuperBook, there’s a good reason why quarterbacks aren’t being given very generous odds this year.
“After we lost on Lamar Jackson this year, we came up with a rule that no QB will be higher than 100/1 at the start of the year,†Salmons told ESPN.
That includes some unlikely MVP candidates. Mitchell Trubisky, Ryan Fitzpatrick, and Sam Darnold are all among the quarterbacks in the maximum 100/1 group. So is LSU signal caller Joe Burrow, who is expected to be drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals with the No. 1 overall pick.
“We’ve already written two tickets on Burrow at 100-1,†Salmons told ESPN.
Mahomes Coming Off Super Bowl MVP Performance
Mahomes won the 2020 Super Bowl MVP award after going off at nearly even money odds at most sportsbooks. The Chiefs’ quarterback went 26-for-42 in pass attempts, throwing for 286 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for another touchdown in the first quarter.
While Mahomes also threw two interceptions, his performance in leading Kansas City back from a 20-10 deficit in the fourth quarter led voters to give him the MVP nod.
“He kept firing, that’s what he did,†Chiefs coach Andy Reid said of Mahomes’ performance. “The guys around him just believed in him. We all did, all the coaches, likewise.â€
While Jackson overshadowed Mahomes in the 2019 MVP race, the Kansas City quarterback was once again one of the league’s top players. Mahomes went 11-3 in his 14 starts, throwing for 26 touchdowns against just five interceptions.
The Chiefs and Ravens not only boast the leading MVP candidates, but are also the top picks to win the next Super Bowl. Kansas City (+650) has the best odds at FanDuel Sportsbook, followed by the Ravens (+700) and the 49ers (+900). San Francisco quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is a 40/1 pick to win the 2020 NFL MVP award, according to the Westgate SuperBook.