Who voted for Justin Herbert? NFL MVP voter defends decision that cost Drake Maye 2025 award

Some drama following the biggest reveal of Thursday's NFL Honors for the 2025 season.

While Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford took home the MVP award, he barely beat out New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye — which wasn't entirely unexpected. But the context to the Stafford-Maye votes stirred up some controversy among fans.

Maye finished one first-place vote behind Stafford, the closest MVP result since a 2003 tie. And there was one voter, Sam Monson, who used their selection on an unexpected candidate: Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert.

Afterward, Monson defended his Herbert pick on social media.

Here's how Monson's Herbert vote helped lead to Stafford beating out Maye for MVP.

MORE: Why Justin Herbert vote was odd twist to Matthew Stafford's MVP win

NFL MVP voting results

The 2025 MVP voting results were the closest in over two decades, since Peyton Manning and Steve McNair were co-MVPs after tying in 2003 voting.

Stafford won the award by one first-place vote. Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen, the reigning MVP, also received two first-place votes.

However, one non-finalist for the award, Herbert, received a single, curious first-place vote.

MORE SN NFL AWARDS: Full list of 2025 winners | SN's NFL awards Archive

Who voted for Justin Herbert?

The voter who selected Justin Herbert as the 2025 NFL MVP was Sam Monson, an analyst at The 33rd Team and previously at Pro Football Focus. After the voting was announced, Monson quickly shared on social media that he picked Herbert.

Since 2022, there have been 50 NFL MVP voters who put five players on their ballots. The group consists of nationwide media members, and Monson was one of the 50 this season.

MORE: Full explanation of how NFL MVP voting works

Who is Sam Monson?

Sam Monson is an analyst at The 33rd Team. He formerly worked for PFF.

According to his X bio, Monson also co-hosts The 33rd Team's "Check the Mic podcast."

Sam Monson explanation for Justin Herbert vote

Monson was quick to share his status as the lone Herbert MVP voter on Thursday night, writing on X that Herbert "had the worst offensive line in the NFL all season and despite that he was working miracles in almost every single game."

Monson also said that Herbert "embodied value."

He continued to defend his vote on social media, writing that he finds MVP as the hardest award to determine due to the "value" aspect.

"The idea that one vote altered a guy's legacy is stupid," Monson wrote of Maye's loss. "More people than not thought each candidate did NOT deserve to win MVP this year, according to the votes. There was not one clear MVP who was robbed of the award. Most people were torn between 2 deserving candidates. I thought a third deserved it as well, because the value he brought to his situation was immense."

Monson shared plenty of posts, directly engaging with fans about his vote. He emphasized that he finds "value is an intrinsic part of the award," and also clarified that the "nominees" the NFL announced are just the top-5 vote-getters, not a list of players sent to voters. He also shot down the idea that he "ruined the NFL season" by voting for Herbert.

Overall, Monson's defense of his Herbert pick was that the Chargers quarterback brought the most "value" to his team, overcoming one of the worst offensive lines in football to make the playoffs.

MORE: Where Matthew Stafford now ranks among oldest MVP winners

Justin Herbert stats 2025

Justin Herbert finished the 2025 season with the fourth-most interceptions in the league, 13. He ranked ninth in passing yards, 14th in completion percentage and seventh in touchdown passes.

Here's a breakdown of how Herbert's stats compared to the other quarterback finalists for the MVP award: Maye, Stafford, Allen and Trevor Lawrence.

MORE: Why Jaxon Smith-Njigba won 2025 Sporting News OPOY over Drake Maye