As we enter the final countdown to Super Bowl 57 across Kansas sports betting, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is still adding to his trophy collection.
The 27-year-old on Thursday night collected his second NFL MVP award after tossing 41 touchdowns to help lead the Chiefs to a 14-3 record and their seventh consecutive AFC West title.
As Mahomes readies for his third Super Bowl in four years, BetKansas took a look at how the most recent reigning regular season MVPs fared in the Super Bowl.
And brace yourselves across Kansas sports betting apps, because the findings weren't pretty.
History Not On Mahomes' Side
Before you place your Super Bowl bets at BetMGM Sportsbook Kansas, know that it's fair to say there is a "curse" for MVPs in the Big Game.
In fact, the last nine reigning MVPs who played in the Super Bowl all lost.
That means Mahomes is looking to become the first regular season MVP since the St. Louis Rams' Kurt Warner in 1999 to win the Super Bowl in the same season as winning MVP.
Sportsbooks are well aware of this trend as well, as the Chiefs Super Bowl odds have them as slight underdogs to the Philadelphia Eagles despite having already won the Big Game behind Mahomes and coach Andy Reid in 2020.
Check out how Mahomes has responded to being an underdog here.
Which Regular Season MVPs Have Fallen Short?
Interestingly, the list of the last nine reigning MVPs to lose in the Super Bowl boast plenty of Big Game experience like Mahomes, even if they didn't get it done in the year they won MVP.
Warner won MVP again in 2001, but fell in the Super Bowl to Bill Belichick, Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. Like Mahomes in the Chiefs' Super Bowl loss to the Buccaneers in 2021, Warner's previous Super Bowl experience didn't help him vault his team over the Pats.
Rich Gannon won the regular season MVP in 2002 with the Oakland Raiders, but that didn't carry much weight with the Buccaneers defense behind Warren Sapp. Gannon and the Raiders fell 48-21 in Super Bowl XXXVII to Jon Gruden and the Bucs.
Seahawks running back Shaun Alexander is the only non-quarterback of the past nine MVPs to advance to the Super Bowl, though he was held to 95 yards without a touchdown in his team's loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2006.
Even Tom Brady Couldn't Do It
To put things in perspective, winning a regular season MVP and Super Bowl in the same season is one of the few accomplishments even Tom Brady and Peyton Manning couldn't do.
Brady won MVP in both 2007 and 2017, but fell in the Big Game to the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles, respectively.
Manning won in both 2009 and 2013, but lost Super Bowl XLIV with the Colts and then Super Bowl XLVIII with the Broncos.
Rounding out the list, Panthers' QB Cam Newton set the NFL on fire with his 2015 MVP season, but lost his magic against Manning and the Broncos defense in Super Bowl 50.
Finally, Falcons QB Matt Ryan came painfully close to pulling off the feat in 2017 after his MVP campaign, only to see his team blow a 27-3 lead to Brady and the Patriots in Super Bowl LI.
With all that said, can Mahomes buck the trend come Sunday? Time will tell, but either way, BetKansas has you covered with all angles for the game, plus the best Kansas sportsbook promotions.
