Saquon Barkley Disrespected in Super Bowl MVP Odds Ahead of NFC Championship Game

Iain MacMillan | Jan 20, 2025

Saquon Barkley is a great bet to be named Super Bowl MVP heading into the conference championship weekend. / Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

The Kansas City Chiefs, Buffalo Bills, Philadelphia Eagles, and Washington Commanders are the final four teams still standing heading into conference championship weekend and while the Super Bowl matchup isn't set quite yet, we can already start to place a few bets on the big game.

One of the markets that's available to wager on for bettors is which player will be named Super Bowl MVP. Of course, these bets could lose before the matchup is set if the team the player you bet on is eliminated this coming Sunday, but the bright side is you could be holding a ticket with some extra value if you choose correctly.

Let's take a look at the latest odds and then I'll argue why Saquon Barkley is worth a wager.

Super Bowl MVP Odds

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

• Patrick Mahomes +280
• Josh Allen +280
• Jalen Hurts +400
• Saquon Barkley +550
• Jayden Daniels +700
• Travis Kelce +2800
• A.J. Brown +4000
• Chris Jones +6000
• James Cook +6000
• DeVonta Smith +7000
• Xavier Worthy +7000
• Terry McLaurin +9000

Bet Saqon Barkley to Win Super Bowl MVP

During the second half of the season, Saquon Barkley was firmly in the NFL MVP conversation. Despite it ultimately going to either Lamar Jackson or Josh Allen, what Barkley did this season can't be understated and his impact for the Eagles continues to be shown in the postseason.

If the Eagles advance to the Super Bowl and eventually lift the Vince Lombardi Trophy, it'll be Barkley that leads them there, which makes me surprised that Jalen Hurts has shorter odds than the former New York Giant at +400 compared to +550.

50.89% of the offensive yards gained by the Eagles this season came on the ground, the most in the NFL by over 5%. Barkley also had 2,283 yards from scrimmage, the most in the league by 169 despite sitting on the bench for Week 18.

The Eagles have shown that they plan to continue to ride Barkley in playoff games. He gained 119 yards on the ground against the Packers in the wild-card round and then 205 yards against the Rams in the divisional round. That means he has rushed for over 70 more yards than Hurts has thrown for.

Obviously, the only game that matters for this award is the Super Bowl, but his stats so far in the postseason show the Eagles won't rely on the arm of Hurts unless they need to. If the Eagles find themselves down in the big game and need to throw the ball in the second half to stage a come back, then sure, Hurts would be live to win MVP. If they win the Super Bowl like they've won the majority of their games this season, Barkley will be a shoo-in for the award.

If the Eagles get past their division rival on Sunday, you're going to thank me for having a Barkley Super Bowl MVP ticket because there's no chance you'll be able to bet him at +550 once the matchup is decided.

---

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.

You can check out all of Iain's bets here!