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.
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. 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.
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.
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|1973
!scope="row"|
|Buffalo Bills||
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|1974
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| rowspan="3" |Quarterback||Oakland Raiders||
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|1975
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|Minnesota Vikings||
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|1976
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|Baltimore Colts||
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|1977
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| rowspan="4" |Running back||Chicago Bears||
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|1978
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|Houston Oilers||
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|1979
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|Houston Oilers||
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|1980
!scope="row"|
|Houston Oilers||
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|1981
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| rowspan="4" |Quarterback||Cincinnati Bengals||
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|1982
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|San Diego Chargers||
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|1983
!scope="row"|
|Washington Redskins||
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|1984
!scope="row"|
|Miami Dolphins||
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|1985
!scope="row"|
| rowspan="2" |Running back||Los Angeles Raiders||
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|1986
!scope="row"|
|Los Angeles Rams||
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|1987
!scope="row"|
|Wide receiver||San Francisco 49ers||
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|1988
!scope="row"|
|Running back||San Francisco 49ers||
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|1989
!scope="row"|
| rowspan="2" |Quarterback||San Francisco 49ers||
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|1991
!scope="row"|
|Running back||Buffalo Bills||
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|1992
!scope="row"|
|Quarterback||San Francisco 49ers||
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|1993
!scope="row"|
|Wide receiver||San Francisco 49ers||
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|1994
!scope="row"|
|Running back||Detroit Lions||
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|1995
!scope="row"|
|Quarterback||Green Bay Packers||
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|1996
!scope="row"|
| rowspan="8" |Running back||Denver Broncos||
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|1997
!scope="row"|
|Detroit Lions||
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|1998
!scope="row"|
|Denver Broncos||
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|1999
!scope="row"|
|St. Louis Rams||
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|2000
!scope="row"|
|St. Louis Rams||
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|2001
!scope="row"|
|St. Louis Rams||
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|2002
!scope="row"|
|Kansas City Chiefs||
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|2003
!scope="row"|
|Baltimore Ravens||
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|2004
!scope="row"|
|Quarterback||Indianapolis Colts||
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|2005
!scope="row"|
| rowspan="2" |Running back||Seattle Seahawks||
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|2006
!scope="row"|
|San Diego Chargers||
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|2007
!scope="row"|
| rowspan="2" |Quarterback||New England Patriots||
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|2008
!scope="row"|
|New Orleans Saints||
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|2009
!scope="row"|
|Running back||Tennessee Titans||
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|2010
!scope="row"|
| rowspan="2" |Quarterback||New England Patriots||
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|2011
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|New Orleans Saints||
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|2012
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|Running back||Minnesota Vikings||
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|2013
!scope="row"|
|Quarterback||Denver Broncos||
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|2014
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|Running back||Dallas Cowboys||
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|2015
!scope="row"|
| rowspan="2" |Quarterback||Carolina Panthers||
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|2016
!scope="row"|
|Atlanta Falcons||
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|2017
!scope="row"|
|Running back||Los Angeles Rams||
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|2018
!scope="row"|
|Quarterback||Kansas City Chiefs||
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|2019
!scope="row"|
|Wide receiver||New Orleans Saints||
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|2020
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|Running back||Tennessee Titans|||
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|2021
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| rowspan="2" |Wide receiver||Los Angeles Rams|||
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|2022
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|Minnesota Vikings|||
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|2023
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|rowspan="2" |Running back||San Francisco 49ers|||
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|2024
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|Philadelphia Eagles|||
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|2025
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|Wide receiver||Seattle Seahawks|||
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Multiple-time winners
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ List of multiple-time winners
!Awards!!Player!!Team(s)!!Years
|-align=center
| rowspan="2” |3||Earl Campbell||Houston Oilers||1978, 1979, 1980
|-align=center
|Marshall Faulk||St. Louis Rams||1999, 2000, 2001
|-align=center
| rowspan="6” |2||Barry Sanders||Detroit Lions||1994, 1997
|-align=center
|Drew Brees||New Orleans Saints||2008, 2011
|-align=center
|Jerry Rice||San Francisco 49ers||1987, 1993
|-align=center
|Peyton Manning||Indianapolis Colts (1) / Denver Broncos (1)||2004, 2013
|-align=center
|Terrell Davis||Denver Broncos||1996, 1998
|-align=center
|Tom Brady||New England Patriots||2007, 2010
|}
See also
- AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year
References
;General
;Footnotes