Super Bowl Betting: MVP Props
by Greg Melikov - 01/29/2009
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Next to betting on which team will win the Super Bowl, wagering on who will be the most valuable player draws the most interest.
Odds favor the offense. Only eight times in 42 Super Bowls has a defensive player won the award. And in SB 12, Dallas defensive linemen Randy White and Harvey Martin were co-MVPs.
Quarterback by far is the most rewarded position, producing 22 winners while seven running backs and five wide receivers captured the award.
So naturally Pittsburgh signal caller Ben Roethlisberger and Arizona QB Kurt Warner are favored to become Super Bowl 43 MVP.
Roethlistberger's odds are the lowest. For example, he's the 2-1 favorite in Bodog's MVP props and 7-4 at Sportsbetting.com. Warner is 5-2 at both sportsbooks.
Warner was the MVP nine years ago when he guided St. Louis past Tennessee in SB 34.
Roethlisberger guided the Steelers to victory over the Seattle Seahawks in SB 39 for their fifth triumph in six appearances, but his pass-catching buddy Hines Ward was judged most valuable.
If Roethlisberger is the MVP, he would tie Steelers QB Terry Bradshaw who won the award in SB 13 and 14, going undefeated in four appearances.
Ward's odds are considerably higher: 10-1 at Bodog and 15-1 at SportsBetting. Arizona's Larry Fitzgerald, considered in many circles the best NFL wide receiver, is 11-2 at Bodog and 5-1 at SportsBetting.
Pittsburgh running back Willie Parker, who is running well in the playoffs, should get some backing. He's 5-1 at Bodog and 7-1 at SportsBetting.
If Sunday's game is low scoring and linebacker Tony Palamalu has the kind of game he had against the Ravens, he has a shot at the award. Palamalu is 10-1 at both sportsbooks.
Linebackers have earned the trophy twice: Chuck Howley with Dallas in SB5 and Ray Lewis with Baltimore in SB 35.
Defensive backs won three times. And a kick returner was presented the trophy in SB 31: Green Bay's Desmond Howard.
What do Broadway Joe, Roger the Dodger and Joe Cool have in common? All were quarterbacks that were MVPs that won Super Bowls.
Broadway Joe Namath guided the upstart New York Jets to the famous upset of the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl 3. Roger "the Dodger" Staubach was the MVP in the Dallas victory over Miami in SB 6.
Joe Cool is the only three-time MVP winner: Joe Montana won when San Francisco captured SB 16, 19 and 24. He also quarterbacks the 49ers past the Dolphins in SB 19 as the MVP was on the catching end of his passes - great wide receiver Jerry Rice.
If the Steelers prevail, Roethlisberger, known as Big Ben, would join two other two-time winning QBs: Green Bay's Bart Starr in SB 1 and 2, and Tom Brady in SB 36 and 38.