Super Bowl MVP: Jalen Hurts wins award after leading Eagles' domination of Chiefs

Jalen Hurts lost his starting job in college. He wasn't a first-round draft pick. Even after leading his team to a Super Bowl, there were questions how much he could give the Philadelphia Eagles when compared to the NFL's elite quarterbacks.

On Sunday night, in an emphatic win over the Kansas City Chiefs at Super Bowl LIX, he got his moment. As well as his own personal trophy.

Hurts was named the Super Bowl MVP of 2025 after a 17-of-21 passing performance with 221 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, plus 72 rushing yards and a touchdown on the ground in a 40-22 win.

That rushing total represents a Super Bowl record, breaking the mark Hurts set at Super Bowl LVII two years ago. His rushing touchdown was also his fourth in a Super Bowl, moving him to one behind Emmitt Smith for the most in the big game.

However, it was his arm that provided the exclamation point, with a 46-yard deep ball to college teammate DeVonta Smith to give Philadelphia a 34-0 lead.

Sunday represented Hurts' second strong performance in a Super Bowl, after he nearly led the Eagles to victory against the Chiefs two seasons earlier. This one will obviously feel sweeter.

Jordan Brand had an ad for their athlete ready to go as soon as the game was over, with the tagline "Love, Hurts."

Jalen Hurts has been improving his entire football career

Hurts has been in the football spotlight since his true freshman year at Alabama, when he took over the starting job under Nick Saban after one game. Sitting in the driver's seat of the machine that was the Crimson Tide, Hurts won SEC Offensive Player of the Year as he led Alabama to an undefeated season, until it lost the College Football Playoff championship game to Clemson.

Hurts returned as starter the next season and again led the Tide to the national championship game, until he was on the wrong end of arguably the most famous mid-game personnel change in college football history. Once Tua Tagovailoa took over, Hurts was playing in his shadow until he transferred to Oklahoma.

Saban always spoke highly of how Hurts managed the situation, though, and Hurts responded to NFL concerns about his passing ability with a Sooner campaign that made him the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy behind Joe Burrow.

NFL teams were clearly still skeptical about Hurts' arm, though, as he lasted until the 53rd overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. He landed with the Eagles, and once again earned a starting job in his first year with a team.

Since then, Hurts has become a vital part of the Eagles' identity. He's had some friction with Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni, but his passer rating has increased nearly every NFL season he's played, all the way up to his career year in 2024.

Like his first year at Alabama, Hurts was tasked with operating a terrifying machine, this time an Eagles roster that looked more and more like the best in the NFL as the season went on. Philadelphia won 15 of its final 16 games of the season and this time, Hurts got his team over the line, with a championship that is fully his.