NFL Honors Winners - Complete List of All Award Winners Since 2012

NFL Honors Winners by Year (2011-2025 Seasons)

The NFL Honors ceremony has celebrated excellence in professional football since February 2012, recognising the league's most outstanding players, coaches and community leaders. From MVP quarterbacks to rookie sensations, the awards showcase each season's defining performances across eight major categories, plus the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award and, from 2026, the new Protector of the Year award for offensive linemen. This list documents every winner from the inaugural ceremony through the 15th Annual NFL Honors.

15th Annual NFL Honors Winners (2025 Season)

The 15th Annual NFL Honors was held at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco on Thursday 5 February 2026, two days before Super Bowl LX, with Jon Hamm hosting the broadcast on NBC and NFL Network. The night produced one of the tightest MVP votes on record and the first winner of a brand new award. Fans new to the sport can explore the history and rules of American football to better understand the significance of these awards.

The headline award went to Matthew Stafford of the Los Angeles Rams, who beat New England's Drake Maye by five points, 366 to 361. Stafford took 24 first-place votes to Maye's 23, with Josh Allen and Justin Herbert splitting the remaining three. It is the closest MVP race since 2003, when Peyton Manning and Steve McNair finished level and shared the award. At 37, Stafford is the oldest player ever to win a first MVP, capping a season of 4,707 passing yards and a league-leading 46 touchdowns against just eight interceptions.

Two Cleveland Browns defenders swept the defensive categories. Myles Garrett was a unanimous Defensive Player of the Year, taking all 50 first-place votes for a maximum 500 points after recording 23 sacks, a new NFL single-season record that broke the 22.5 shared by Michael Strahan and T.J. Watt. Rookie linebacker Carson Schwesinger, a second-round pick at No. 33 overall, took Defensive Rookie of the Year with 40 of 50 first-place votes on the back of 156 tackles and 11 tackles for loss.

Seattle's Jaxon Smith-Njigba won Offensive Player of the Year after leading the NFL with 1,793 receiving yards on 119 catches, finishing ahead of Christian McCaffrey 272 points to 223. Carolina's Tetairoa McMillan, the No. 8 pick in the 2025 draft, was a runaway Offensive Rookie of the Year with 41 of 50 first-place votes, 1,014 receiving yards and seven touchdowns. Many of these players first drew national attention in the College Football Playoff.

Christian McCaffrey took Comeback Player of the Year with 31 of 50 first-place votes, returning from a 2024 season wrecked by bilateral Achilles tendinitis and a season-ending knee injury to post 2,126 scrimmage yards and 17 touchdowns across all 17 games. Mike Vrabel was Coach of the Year on 302 points and 19 first-place votes, ahead of Jacksonville's Liam Coen, after taking a New England side that had gone 4-13 to a 14-3 record. He is the first head coach to inherit a 13-loss team and win at least 13 games in his first season. His offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels was named Assistant Coach of the Year.

Off the field, Bobby Wagner of the Washington Commanders received the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award for his stroke awareness and prevention work through the Phenia Mae Fund, named for his late mother. The league also presented the first ever Protector of the Year award, honouring the season's best offensive lineman, to Chicago Bears guard Joe Thuney. Unlike the AP categories, it was decided by a six-man committee of former offensive linemen including Jason Kelce, Orlando Pace and Andrew Whitworth.

Team representation was unusually concentrated at the top: the Browns and Patriots each took two awards, and the winners' teams spanned six of the eight divisions. Ten franchises were represented in all, from the Rams and Seahawks to the Panthers, 49ers, Bears and Commanders. To see how team results lined up with individual recognition, follow the latest NFL standings.

NFL Honors MVP Winners - Complete History

The NFL honors award winners list is never complete without the Most Valuable Player category, which has defined eras of dominance and reshaped the league's history. From the 2011 season through 2025, the NFL honors winners by year in the MVP slot highlight the quarterback-driven nature of modern football, with only one exception across the last fifteen seasons.

The record of NFL honors award winners at MVP shows several repeat champions. Aaron Rodgers leads the era with four (2011, 2014, 2020, 2021), while Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson have two apiece. Across all eras, Peyton Manning holds the outright career record with five MVPs, ahead of Rodgers on four, with Tom Brady and Brett Favre on three each.

Age has shaped the MVP narrative at both extremes. The youngest winner in this stretch was Lamar Jackson, 22 throughout the 2019 regular season, when he became only the second unanimous MVP in league history after Tom Brady in 2010. The oldest was Tom Brady himself at 40 in 2017. Matthew Stafford's 2025 award sits between the two as a different kind of record: at 37 he is the oldest player to win a first MVP, having previously been recognised as Comeback Player of the Year fourteen seasons earlier.

Team distribution has been relatively balanced, though the Packers lead all franchises with four MVPs, all of them Rodgers, followed by the Ravens and Chiefs with two each. Buffalo's Josh Allen broke through in 2024 to claim the Bills' first MVP, and Stafford in 2025 delivered the first for the Rams franchise since Kurt Warner in 2001.

Position breakdown is the clearest trend of all: fourteen of the fifteen MVPs in this era have been quarterbacks. The lone exception was Adrian Peterson in 2012, when he rushed for 2,097 yards and fell eight short of Eric Dickerson's single-season record. This dominance underscores how heavily voting favours passing production in the modern NFL.

Voting margins have added drama at both ends of the scale. Jackson's 2019 campaign was unanimous and his 2023 win near-unanimous at 49 of 50, while Stafford's 2025 victory came down to a five-point gap over Drake Maye, the tightest since the Manning-McNair tie in 2003. Fans can revisit the key matchups behind those numbers in the NFL scores archive.

AP Offensive Rookie of the Year Winners & Nominees

The AP Offensive Rookie of the Year (OROY) award has consistently celebrated first-year players who made immediate impacts on their teams. Reviewing the full history from the 2011 season through 2025 provides a clear view of how rookie excellence has shaped the NFL and highlighted future stars of the league.

A clear position breakdown shows quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers sharing the award almost evenly, with seven quarterbacks, four running backs and four receivers across the fifteen seasons. Skill positions capture voters' attention because their production is immediately visible in the box score.

Draft position also plays a significant role. Twelve of the fifteen winners were first-round picks expected to deliver instantly, and six of those went first or second overall. Mid-round exceptions like Alvin Kamara at 67th and Dak Prescott at 135th prove that elite rookie talent can still be found well outside the opening round.

Team performance is another important element. Several OROY winners lifted their franchises straight into contention: Prescott, Herbert, Stroud and Daniels all improved their teams' win totals in their debut seasons, and McMillan gave Carolina its first offensive rookie winner since Cam Newton in 2011.

Not every remarkable rookie secures the award. Notable runners-up such as Puka Nacua (2023), Justin Jefferson (2020), Tyreek Hill (2016) and Amari Cooper (2015) posted outstanding debut campaigns but were narrowly edged out. These close races reinforce how deep rookie classes can be in a given year.

AP Defensive Rookie of the Year Winners & Nominees

The NFL Honors winners list for Defensive Rookie of the Year (DROY) provides a consistent reminder of how immediate defensive impact can alter the trajectory of a franchise. Since the 2011 season, this award has showcased edge rushers, linebackers and defensive backs who quickly translated collegiate dominance into professional production.

A position analysis of these recipients underscores the prevalence of pass rushers and linebackers in the voting. Edge defenders such as Miller, the Bosa brothers and Verse embody how disruption at the line of scrimmage draws immediate recognition, while coverage specialists like Gardner, Peters and Lattimore show the growing value placed on shutdown secondary play.

The award correlates strongly with headline production, though not always with sacks. Parsons' 13-sack rookie year and Leonard's league-leading 163 tackles are the clearest examples, but Jared Verse won in 2024 with just 4.5 sacks on the strength of pressure rate and run defence rather than raw counting stats, and Schwesinger's 156 tackles in 2025 came from a second-round pick who was not expected to start.

Another clear theme is the Pro Bowl and All-Pro correlation. Several honorees, including Donald, Parsons and Gardner, were named to the Pro Bowl or an All-Pro team in their rookie campaigns, validating the award's alignment with league-wide recognition of excellence.

Career outcomes reveal notable trajectories. Three DROY winners have gone on to win Defensive Player of the Year: Luke Kuechly the very next season, Nick Bosa three years later, and Aaron Donald three times over. This illustrates how the NFL Honors winners list for DROY frequently forecasts long-term superstardom.

AP Comeback Player of the Year Winners & Nominees

The AP Comeback Player of the Year award is one of the most emotional moments during the NFL Honors ceremony. The category consistently highlights athletes who overcame devastating injuries, prolonged slumps or personal challenges to return to excellence on the field. From the 2011 season through 2025, the list of winners reflects resilience, perseverance and the league's respect for players who refused to quit.

The award reflects two broad types of comeback. Some are triumphs over injury or illness, and Berry's return from Hodgkin lymphoma and Alex Smith's recovery from a life-threatening leg infection are the most striking. Others are career revivals after extended poor form, such as Geno Smith's 2022 turnaround in Seattle or Joe Flacco arriving mid-season in Cleveland at 38 and steering the Browns into the playoffs.

Age spans the full range. Flacco at 38 and Peyton Manning at 36 sit at one end; Joe Burrow was 25 when he won the first of his two. Burrow is the only player to take the award twice in this era, after a torn ACL and MCL in 2020 and then a torn wrist ligament in 2023.

Several honorees also won in other categories. Manning added MVP and Offensive Player of the Year the following season, Luck had been an MVP candidate before his injury, and Christian McCaffrey had already won Offensive Player of the Year in 2023 before his 2025 comeback. Matthew Stafford offers the longest arc of all: Comeback Player as a third-year Lion in 2011, MVP as a Ram fourteen seasons later.

AP Coach of the Year Winners & Nominees

The AP Coach of the Year award highlights the leaders on the sidelines who transformed teams and guided players to exceed expectations. As part of the NFL honors winners each season, it reflects both tactical brilliance and motivational leadership. Looking back from the 2011 season through 2025, the list of honorees provides insight into trends in coaching excellence.

Team improvement is the single strongest predictor of this award. Every one of the fifteen winners improved on the previous season's win total, and the biggest jumps are the most decorated: Arians took over a 2-14 Colts side, Garrett and McVay both inherited 4-12 teams, and Vrabel's 2025 Patriots went from 4-13 to 14-3, a ten-win swing that is tied for the largest ever by a team with a new head coach.

There is also a clear playoff correlation. While the award is based on regular season performance, several winners parlayed their success into deep playoff runs. Jim Harbaugh's 2011 side reached the NFC Championship game, Rivera's 2015 Panthers went to Super Bowl 50, and Vrabel's 2025 Patriots reached Super Bowl LX, losing 29-13 to the Seattle Seahawks.

Four coaches have won twice in the era: Ron Rivera (2013, 2015), Bruce Arians (2012, 2014), Kevin Stefanski (2020, 2023) and Mike Vrabel (2021, 2025). Vrabel is the only one of the four to win with two different franchises.

The award has also repeatedly gone to first-year coaches. Bruce Arians with the Colts in 2012, Sean McVay with the Rams in 2017, Kevin Stefanski with the Browns in 2020, Brian Daboll with the Giants in 2022 and Mike Vrabel with the Patriots in 2025 all won in their debut campaign at that franchise. Fresh leadership can change a roster's trajectory in a single off-season.

NFL Honors Winners 2024 Season (14th Annual)

The 14th Annual NFL Honors was held in New Orleans on 6 February 2025, celebrating the 2024 season. If you searched for “NFL Honors winners 2025” and meant that ceremony, this is the class you are looking for.

Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills won his first MVP, and the first in Bills franchise history, on 383 points and 27 first-place votes to Lamar Jackson's 362 and 23. Allen threw for 3,731 yards with 28 passing touchdowns and a career-low six interceptions, adding 531 rushing yards and 12 rushing scores for 41 total touchdowns. He also became only the third player to win MVP without being named first-team All-Pro.

Saquon Barkley took Offensive Player of the Year in his first season with Philadelphia after rushing for 2,005 yards, becoming the first Eagles player ever to win the award, and Denver's Patrick Surtain II was Defensive Player of the Year as a unanimous first-team All-Pro cornerback. Washington's Jayden Daniels was Offensive Rookie of the Year, and the Rams' Jared Verse took Defensive Rookie of the Year on the strength of his pressure and run defence rather than raw sack totals.

Joe Burrow claimed a second Comeback Player of the Year after returning from wrist surgery, Kevin O'Connell was Coach of the Year for guiding Minnesota from 7-10 to 14-3, and Arik Armstead of the Jacksonville Jaguars received the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award. To place the season in context, see the overview of the 2025 NFL season that followed, or the NFL Draft that supplied the next rookie class.

NFL Honors Winners by Team

The distribution of NFL honors winners by team from the 2011 season through 2025 reveals which franchises consistently produce elite talent. Counting all 122 awards handed out across fifteen ceremonies, two franchises stand clear of the field, and neither is the one most fans would guess.

The Los Angeles Rams lead with eleven, built almost entirely on defence and the draft: three Defensive Player of the Year awards for Aaron Donald, two Defensive Rookie awards, two Offensive Player awards, plus Sean McVay's Coach of the Year, Andrew Whitworth's Man of the Year and Matthew Stafford's 2025 MVP. The Carolina Panthers are second with nine, spread across two Offensive Rookie awards, two Coach of the Year awards for Ron Rivera, and Cam Newton's MVP and Offensive Player double in 2015.

Behind them sit a cluster of five franchises on six each. The Packers are the most concentrated: four of their six are Aaron Rodgers MVPs. The Texans built theirs on J.J. Watt, the Browns on Kevin Stefanski and Myles Garrett, and the 49ers spread six awards across six different categories, the only team to do so.

Looking at MVP by franchise, the Packers lead with four, all Rodgers, followed by the Ravens and Chiefs with two each. The Patriots, Falcons, Panthers, Vikings, Broncos, Bills and Rams have one apiece. This pattern reinforces how tightly the MVP award is tied to sustained quarterback play.

The rookie awards highlight three team sweeps: the Saints in 2017 with Alvin Kamara and Marshon Lattimore, the Jets in 2022 with Garrett Wilson and Sauce Gardner, and the Texans in 2023 with C.J. Stroud and Will Anderson Jr. The Browns managed a different kind of double in 2025, taking both defensive awards through Myles Garrett and Carson Schwesinger.

Team counts here are by franchise, so the Rams total includes the St. Louis years and the Chargers total includes San Diego. Ultimately the NFL honors winners by team analysis shows how certain franchises define eras through a combination of dominant individual talent, draft success and coaching stability.