The Pittsburgh Steelers only have one NFL MVP winner since 1957

The Pittsburgh Steelers have a prestigious history, but remarkably, that only includes one NFL MVP winner since the award started in 1957. 

The Pittsburgh Steelers might be one of the NFL’s best franchises in terms of Super Bowl wins and win percentages. They even boast some of the greatest defenses in the history of the league. However, one accolade they don’t have much to show for is the NFL MVP award.

Despite their dominance in the 1970s and their impressive stretch in the 2000s, the Steelers only have ever had one player win the NFL Most Valuable Player award since it first started all the way back in 1957 — a 65-year span.

This lone honor belonged to Hall of Fame quarterback, Terry Bradshaw, for his performance back in 1978. After leading his team to a 14-2 record that was later capped off with a Super Bowl victory and being awarded his only First-Team All-Pro, Bradshaw was labeled as the MVP of the NFL, via Pro Football Reference.

Remarkably, all of these years later, the Steelers have yet to have an NFL MVP. They aren’t alone here, as Pittsburgh is tied with 10 other franchisees who have just one NFL MVP since the award started (including the Dallas Cowboys). Six franchises have never witnessed an MVP on their team.

What’s interesting is that some teams have many. The Green Bay Packers, for example, have a whopping 10 of the 65 NFL MVP awards. This is thanks to their uber-impressive quarterbacks over the years in Bart Starr, Brett Favre, and Aaron Rodgers.

The Indianapolis Colts have found similar success in this department — earning a total of 9 NFL MVP awards thanks to players like Jonny Unitas, Earl Morrall, and Peyton Manning.

The good news is that the Steelers have been able to find as much success in the NFL as any team despite having MVPs to lead them to victory. But is there a player on the roster who could be in contention for this award in the future?

Steelers unlikely to have an MVP anytime soon

In today’s NFL, this award almost always goes to a quarterback… and for good reason. No player has a more important role in all sports, and a great quarterback can carry the team on their shoulders.

Sadly, we are in a loaded quarterback era and we don’t know what we will be getting out of Kenny Pickett. Even those with high expectations probably don’t believe that he’s going to be pushing for MVP votes anytime soon.

The last time a non-quarterback won the NFL MVP award was Adrian Peterson back in 2012. This award has only gone to a non-QB once in the past 15 years, and that doesn’t seem likely to change anytime soon as the value of the position increases.

The best player on the team — unquestionably, in my mind — is T.J. Watt. The reigning Defensive Player of the Year is perhaps the only longshot candidate to be on contention for this award, but this might be as unlikely as Kenny Pickett winning it in the near future. As dominant as Watt has been, this award almost always goes to an offensive player. The great Lawrence Taylor was the last defender to win this award all the way back in 1986.

Regardless of whether or not the Steelers have a legitimate MVP candidate on their current roster, Pittsburgh always finds a way to be competitive. I’m hoping for another MVP to join the team in the near future, but the Steelers have shown with Ben Roethlisberger that it’s not required to win the Super Bowl.