NFL just robbed Patriots quarterback Drake Maye of the 2025 MVP Award

While it is far from the current focus for the New England Patriots just days before they face the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl LX, it was announced that quarterback Drake Maye did not win the Most Valuable Player Award for the 2025 season; it instead went to Matthew Stafford as a lifetime achievement.

It had long been expected, as many NFL voters had already said they voted for the Rams' quarterback over Maye, and it is now official. But that doesn't make it any more reasonable or sensible.

Maye lived up to his role as the most valuable player, and that remains the case despite not seeing his name etched on the award before playing in his first Super Bowl on Sunday. Instead, Stafford will have his name cemented for the season, despite not winning the NFC West and losing in the NFC Championship, something that is historically not done for the league MVP.

The good thing is that this just gives Maye even more bulletin board material ahead of the biggest game of his career.

Matthew Stafford steals the MVP Award from Drake Maye just days before Super Bowl LX

The arguments supporting why Maye was the rightful next winner of the MVP Award have been exhausted over the past month, so there's no real need to rehash that argument at this point, especially since his loss has now been made official.

But there is enough now to consider how this could further motivate the quarterback to deliver his best performance of his life on Sunday, when the game matters most, and the Patriots can take home their 7th Lombardi Trophy, becoming the winningest franchise in NFL history.

Maye has enough on his bulletin board already, particularly with all the doubt surrounding his talent and the Patriots' chances going against the Seahawks, on top of the number of former and current players downplaying just how good he has been and will be.

However, this adds another layer to all of it and can also fire up his teammates, who have come out in droves to support him throughout the 2025 season.

They certainly view him as the MVP, and so do Patriots fans, because when it comes down to the meaning of the award, he fits the bill.

Stafford was impressive, and there's nothing that can take that away from him, but expectations for the Rams were high, as the roster was stacked, and the quarterback didn't do anything he wasn't projected to accomplish.

Not only that, but if he were replaced by even a mediocre quarterback, the Rams would still win, maybe not as much, but still would. The same cannot be said for replacing Maye, and that should have mattered more to voters.

The good thing is that the voting was incredibly close, possibly much closer than anyone could have imagined.

No matter what, Maye will be playing in Sunday's Super Bowl at a chance to win Super Bowl MVP, while Stafford will be watching at home like the rest of us.