NFL MVP voting results: How Matthew Stafford beat out Drake Maye in closest race since 2003

After a neck-and-neck race, Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford defeated New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye for the 2026 NFL MVP award.

Both Stafford and Maye had excellent seasons, leading their teams to the playoffs and championship weekend appearances. While Stafford's stats were eye-popping, Maye's advanced metrics were what really drove his candidacy.

Ultimately, Stafford came away with the award, his first MVP victory at the age of 37. The award also cements Stafford's place in league history, alongside his Super Bowl 56 win in the 2021 season.

Voters had a tough time choosing between these two stars, producing a tight race until the end. Here's how the MVP voting shook out.

NFL MVP voting results

Stafford edged out Maye by the slimmest of margins, as he had 366 total votes and 24 first-place votes to Maye's 361 total votes and 23 first-place votes. Besides those two players, Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen received two first-place votes, and Los Angeles Chargers Justin Herbert received one first-place vote.

AP NFL MVP
1. Matthew Stafford 366 points, 24 first-place votes
2. Drake Maye 361, 23
3. Josh Allen 91, 2
4. Christian McCaffrey 71, 0
5. Trevor Lawrence 49, 0
Justin Herbert got the other first-place vote.

In 2022, the NFL changed the voting system so that every voter fills out a ballot of five names, first place to fifth place. Here's how those votes count towards the overall count:

• First-place vote: 10 points
• Second-place vote: 5 points
• Third-place vote: 3 points
• Fourth-place vote: 2 points
• Fifth-place vote: 1 point

Therefore, it's fair to say that Stafford beat out Maye by one first-place vote, or one second-place vote. Maye came up one first-place vote short of Stafford, which ended up being the biggest difference.

However, it was the vote that Herbert that played a massive role in the result. While Allen finished third, Herbert didn't even finish as a finalist, making the vote for him the biggest outlier.

In the end, this was the closest NFL MVP voting since 2003, when Peyton Manning and Steve McNair tied for the award.