AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year

The AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year (OPOY) is an annual award presented by the Associated Press (AP) to the offensive player in the National Football League (NFL) deemed to have had the most outstanding season. The winner is chosen by votes from a nationwide panel of sportswriters who regularly follow the NFL. Marshall Faulk and Earl Campbell are the only players to have won the award three times, in three consecutive seasons. Jerry Rice, Barry Sanders, Terrell Davis, Tom Brady, Drew Brees, and Peyton Manning have each won it twice. Campbell is the only player to win the award as a rookie, doing so in 1978. Warren Moon and Priest Holmes are the only undrafted players to win the award. Manning is the only player to win the award with two different teams, doing so in 2004 with the Indianapolis Colts and in 2013 with the Denver Broncos. The most recent winner is wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba of the Seattle Seahawks, who received it for the 2025 NFL season.

Awarded forOffensive player of the year in the NFL

Presented byAssociated Press

First award1972

Most winsEarl Campbell, Marshall Faulk (3 each)

Quick facts Awarded for, Presented by ...

AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year

Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, 2025 recipient
Awarded for	Offensive player of the year in the NFL
Presented by	Associated Press
History
First award	1972
Most wins	Earl Campbell, Marshall Faulk (3 each)
Most recent	Jaxon Smith-Njigba

Close

Every winner of the award has been either a running back or a quarterback, with the exception of wide receivers Jerry Rice, Michael Thomas, Cooper Kupp, Justin Jefferson, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba.^[1] Running backs have been awarded 26 times, followed by quarterbacks, with 20 awards. Of the 53 winners, 28 were also named the AP NFL Most Valuable Player in the same season. Since 2011, both awards have been given out at the annual NFL Honors ceremony along with other AP awards, including the Defensive Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year awards.^[2]

Players are often awarded after record-breaking or near-record-breaking offensive seasons. Running back O. J. Simpson won the award for 1973 after rushing for a record 2,003 yards, becoming the first NFL player to rush for 2,000 yards in a season.^[3] When his record was broken by Eric Dickerson in 1984, Dickerson placed second in voting behind quarterback Dan Marino, who that year was the first to pass for 5,000 yards in a season.^[4] Marino's 5,084 yards stood as the record for 27 years before being broken by Drew Brees in 2011, who won that season's award.^[5] In turn, 2013 winner Peyton Manning set league single-season records for passing yards (5,477) and passing touchdowns (55).^[6]