The 2025 UFL MVP Race: How Close is it?
Image via X @USFLPanthers
The UFL playoff picture is set as teams are now officially lined up for postseason play in the second year of the league. With the final Two weeks essentially meaningless for the postseason for fans of the league these games mean more for players who are on the outside looking in.
With opportunities limited for professional athletes, the idea of “tanking” is so far-fetched for a league like the UFL. With players, coaches, and support staff all looking to get to the next level fans should expect a high level of play over the final Two weeks of the regular season.
With the playoffs secured for the Panthers,Stallions, Defenders, and Battlehawks one question that remains is who is the front-runner for the MVP? While the award may be a meaningless accolade to casual viewers to players it may mean much more.
Spring League History
Historically the MVP winners have made huge strides in their careers once being crowned the award. Adrian Martinez, Alex McGough, and KaVontae Turpin have earned the honor since 2022, with each player earning a spot on a NFL roster or practice squad post their award.
Financially the returns have been pretty significant as well with Turping recently signing a 3Yr/13.5M deal with Dallas after earning 2.5M with the team and several post season awards as well.
Martinez and McGough have also done well for themselves, with the Two Stallions Quarterbacks earning $269,167 and $303,500 respectively after signing NFL contracts.
You can also throw in Garrett Gilbert, PJ Walker, A.J. McCarron and Ben DiNucci who all by one metric or another earned unofficial MVP honors from various outlets and collectively earned approx. 8.2 Million from their league leading success.
Going back even further Tommy Maddox the 2001 XFL MVP added Five more years to his NFL career post his time with the LA Xtreme, earning at a minimum $5 Million additional dollars to his bank based on articles from 2004.
The 2025 UFL MVP Race
With playoff matchups locked up, for many people the MVP race is what “die-hard fans” may be focused on now. For me the race comes down to Bryce Perkins and Jordan Ta’amu with both players not only trying to add to their trophy room, but maybe some extra dollars in their bank account as well.
Recently, Perkins was a “scratch” from the Panthers week 8 clinching matchup vs the Roughnecks. Michigan’s backup Danny Etling came in and managed to throw for 3 TDs possibly making Perkins look less “valuable”. On the other side of the league, Jordan Ta’amu took on the Arlington Renegades carving up Bob Stoops’ defense as a passer, receiver, and rusher enroute to his playoff clinching win. Ta’amu’s heroics with Perkins being unavailable may have changed the “voters” mindset of who could win the MVP as the season comes to a close. It may also be worth noting in the Panthers press conference Mike Nolan made an extra emphasis on the Panthers getting healthy which could be implied we may see more Danny Etling, along with Rocky Lombardi these final Two weeks. Historically when the D.C. Defenders earned a playoff berth in 2023 Ta’amu still played the final stretch of the season despite a 9-1 record.
By the Numbers
Perkins: 109/158 1,342 Yds 9:2 TD:INT, 47 Att 269 Yds 5 TDs
Ta’amu: 141/263 1,990 Yds 16:4 TD:INT, 39 Att 171 Yds 2 TDs, 1 Rec 9 Yds 1 TD
How do the numbers line up to voters? Do they value the more direct metrics of passing yards and touchdowns for a QB? Do they look at the true meaning of most value the player has on their team? Did Danny Etling make the Panthers look like they could have had the same success with him under center? These would be some of the questions that I would bring up when challenging a “voters” decision during this MVP-cycle.
I think most fans would agree that if it came down to backup Quarterbacks playing the drop off for the Defenders would be far greater than the Panthers but should Ta’amu be at fault for that? Last season the Defenders had Jalan McClendon and Deondre Francois behind Ta'amu, both of which garnered a decent amount of experience over Mike DiLiello and Spencer Sanders.
Perkins and the Panthers have arguably had way more flexibility at the backend of their position having success with their backups since 2023 utilizing E.J. Perry, Brian Lewerke, and the aforementioned Danny Etling all leading the team to wins during high pressure games.
Final Thoughts
There is a saying in life that the best ability is availability and maybe that is a huge factor in the UFL MVP race. Personally, if Perkins and Ta’amu played a full slate of games the added big play ability that Perkins has provided would earn my vote, but that’s a reality we currently don’t live in.
In a social media driven world, you could argue that Perkins’ impact in the digital space is also greater. He’s been “trending” multiple times, and has been shared across the internet for Josh Allen/Lamar Jackson esque highlights.
With Two games remaining this could all be a moot point if Perkins/Ta’amu have “drop-offs” in play, or if one of them sees limited action the final portion of the season. One would assume the “voters” would go off volume in addition to production and make a decision from there. However, with the variables that exist in this space and the past history of the award it is worth talking about.
The Panthers are set to take on Stallions in Birmingham this Saturday, with the Defenders set to take on the Roughnecks in Houston on Sunday.
