NFL MVP Odds: Josh Allen Enters Week 18 With Sizable Lead Over Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow

Iain MacMillan | Jan 5, 2025

Josh Allen is the betting favorite to win NFL MVP ahead of Week 18. / Rich Barnes-Imagn Images

We're just hours away from Sunday's action in the final week of the regular season to kick off.

The race to win NFL MVP has been a tight one all season and while Josh Allen seemingly locked up the award a number of weeks ago, Lamar Jackson made a late-season push to be named the league's MVP for the third time in his career.

Did Jackson's in the Ravens' 35-10 win against the Browns on Saturday do enough to close the gap on Allen? Let's find out what the oddsmakers think before today's action.

NFL MVP Odds

Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook

• Josh Allen -270
• Lamar Jackson +200
• Joe Burrow +2200

Despite Jackson's performances in the final stretch of the season, Allen is still the betting favorite to be named MVP for the first time in his career at -270 odds, which translates to an implied probability of 72.97%. While Allen is favored, there's certainly enough room for error in the odds that voters could vote for Jackson to win his second straight, leading to what will likely be one of the closest MVP votes in recent history.

If Allen wants to add to his MVP resume, he'll likely need to do it on the Bills opening drive. Sean McDermott has made it clear that he's only playing Allen to keep his start streak alive and will likely be subbed out of the game after the Bills' first drive of the game.

Besides Allen and Jackson, the only other realistic option for MVP is Joe Burrow. Don't be surprised if he enters the conversation if the Bengals make the playoffs. The Cincinnati quarterback has arguably put up the most impressive statistical season of the three but the biggest knock against him has been the Bengals not being in the postseason. With a Chiefs win against the Broncos and a Dolphins loss to the Jets, Cincinnati will lock up the No. 7 seed, locking down the final argument against Burrow for MVP.

If that doesn't happen, we'll see which way voters sway between Allen and Jackson when they cast their ballots.

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Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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