The NFL Honors took place Thursday night in San Francisco as the league took time to recognize the most impactful performances from the 2025 season.
The night was headlined by Matthew Stafford being named the league MVP after leading the NFL with 46 touchdown passes this season. The soon to be 38 year old narrowly edged out New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye by a single first place vote to earn top honours for the first time in his career.
Stafford used his speech to thank his teammates, coaches, and family before confirming that he would be returning for another season in 2026.
Prior to that, Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba earned offensive player of the year honours, as he took another massive leap forward in year 3 of his professional career. The talented wideout caught 119 passes for 1,793 yards and 10 TDs this season. His receiving yards total, and yards per touch average (14.5) both led the league in 2025.
JSN’s 14 first place votes helped him sneak past NFC West rival Christian McCaffrey (12) to earn the recognition for the first time.
NFL Honors awards winner: Full results
- NFL MVP: Matthew Stafford, QB, Los Angeles Rams
- Coach of the Year: Mike Vrabel, New England Patriots
- Offensive Player of the Year: Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR, Seattle Seahawks
- Defensive Player of the Year: Myles Garrett, DE, Cleveland Browns
- Comeback Player of the Year: Christian McCaffey, RB, San Francisco 49ers
- Offensive Rookie of the Year: Tetairoa McMillan, WR, Carolina Panthers
- Defensive Rookie of the Year: Carson Schwesinger, LB, Cleveland Browns
- Assistant Coach of the Year: Josh McDaniels, offensive coordinator, New England Patriots
- Walter Payton Man of the Year: Bobby Wagner, LB, Washington Commanders
- Protector of the Year: Joe Thuney, G, Chicago Bears
In addition to handing out hardware for the 2025 NFL campaign, the awards ceremony also officially introduced the Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 2026.
The group was selected from a pool of 15 modern-era players, 3 senior candidate finalists, along with Patriots owner Robert Kraft and former coach Bill Belichick. Belichick’s snub was leaked several days prior, sending the blogosphere into a frenzy, and prompting multiple prominent NFL voices to call for change amongst the selection committee.
When all was said and done, 5 former players were chosen to don the gold jacket at a ceremony scheduled for later this year. The group was headlined by former Super Bowl champion QB Drew Brees, and Arizona Cardinals legend Larry Fitzgerald.
Pro Football Hall of Fame 2026 inductees
Drew Brees, QB, (2001-2020)
Larry Fitzgerald, WR, (2004-2020)
Luke Kuechly, LB, (2012-2019)
Adam Vinatieri, K, (1996-2019)
Roger Craig, RB, (1983-1993)
With the formalities now out of the way, football fans will turn their attention to Super Bowl LX which takes place Sunday, February 8th at 6:30pm ET between the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks.
Photo: Tennessee Titans. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.