5 former NFL MVPs who demanded a trade feat. Lamar Jackson, Aaron Rodgers
The NFL MVP award is the highest individual statistical honor that any player can achieve during each season.
The annual winner is voted on by a committee of selected individuals who officially cover the NFL. The award is handed out to the one player they decided was most valuable to their team’s overall success. While it's an individual award, it often takes a team effort to materialize for the player.
Many players who win an NFL MVP award often become legends with the team that they won it for. While this can lead to an excellent ongoing relationship between the team and player, sometimes things turn south for one reason or another.
Here are five former NFL MVP winners who later demanded a trade from the team they won it with.
#1 - Brett Favre, Green Bay Packers
Brett Favre is the only player in NFL history to win the MVP award in three consecutive seasons. He did so with the Green Bay Packers. He's one of their biggest legends, but things turned sour during his infamous history of retirement and unretiring.
During one of Favre's retirements, the Packers decided to name Aaron Rodgers their starting quarterback. When Favre unretired, he wanted his job back, but the franchise refused.
He then demanded a trade and requested it be to the Minnesota Vikings. The Packers instead traded him to the New York Jets. Favre retired a year later from the Jets, only to unretire again and join the Vikings as a free agent.
#2 - Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers
Like his predecessor Brett Favre, Aaron Rodgers is also one of the Packers' NFL MVP winners seeking a trade to a new team.
He is reportedly on the verge of parting ways with Green Bay during the 2023 NFL offseason as the franchise is set to move on to Jordan Love as their starter. Also a bit of a parallel to Favre, the New York Jets are the clear frontrunners to land Rodgers via trade.
It remains unclear if Rodgers will in fact be traded in 2023, but all signs indicate that his run as the starting quarterback for the Packers is officially over. His four total NFL MVP awards are the second-most by any player ever, trailing only five for Peyton Manning.
#3 - Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons
Matt Ryan helped the Atlanta Falcons make a Super Bowl appearance, while also winning the NFL MVP award. He is one of the greatest players in their franchise history. Things went a bit south during the 2022 NFL offseason when Ryan found out the Falcons were pursuing a trade for Deshaun Watson.
While Watson ended up being sent to the Cleveland Browns instead, Ryan felt disrespected by the Falcons' pursuit. He formally asked the organization to trade him and they granted him his wish. He lasted just one year with the Indianapolis Colts before being released during the 2023 NFL offseason.
#4 - Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens
Lamar Jackson won the NFL MVP award in just his second season as the signal-caller for the Baltimore Ravens. He is also one of the greatest rushing quarterbacks of all time, despite only playing for five years so far. Jackson and the Ravens negotiated a long-term contract extension for many months, but failed to agree on a deal every step of the way.
Breaking: Lamar Jackson announced on #twitter that he requested a trade from the Ravens on March 2.
YO CAN SOMEONE PAY @Lj_era8 WHAT HE’S WORTH! https://t.co/TbtimJEZBS
Things turned a bit messy during the 2023 NFL offseason. Jackson became frustrated when the Ravens placed their franchise tag on him, rather than awarding him a long-term contract. He's currently seeking to join a new team and recently asked the Ravens to trade him.
#5 - Joe Montana, San Francisco 49ers
Joe Montana is one of the most accomplished quarterbacks in NFL history. His three NFL MVP awards and four Super Bowl rungs are each among the most by any player ever. All of this was accomplished as a member of the San Francisco 49ers, but his succession plan caused him to demand a trade.
When Montana injured his elbow, the 49ers turned the starting job over to Steve Young. Montana made a full recovery, but the franchise decided to stick with Young moving forward.
Their former superstar was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs, while Young went on to win an NFL MVP award and a Super Bowl ring of his own.