High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The National Football League Most Valuable Player Award (NFL MVP) is given by various entities, most notably the Associated Press (AP), to the player who is considered most valuable in the league. The AP NFL MVP has been shared three times, in 1960, 1997, and 2003. Peyton Manning has won the award four times in his career, the most of any NFL player. Jim Brown, Johnny Unitas, and Brett Favre all were named MVP three times. In the early afternoon, EST, on January 2, 2009, the AP released its second list of the Associated Press Most Valuable Players of the day. It listed winners from 1961 to the current winner, Peyton Manning. Presently the Associated Press is maintaining that the MVP award began in 1961. It is possible that this is a reaction to an article published at Pro Football Weekly that suggests the AP awards as listed by the AP were incorrect.