The list of voters for the NFL MVP award changed this year over last and while we didn't know ahead of time who would be voting, we now know that NFL icon Tom Brady was not among them.
A look at the finalized panel of the AP voting panel showed that Brady was no longer on the list after previously being included on it in 2024. Granted, he wasn't singled out or anything as he joined a list of non-returning voters with some pretty noteworthy persons.
Kay Adams, Tom Curran, Mike Jones, John McMullen, Gary Myers, Laura Okmin, Nick Pavlatos, Nora Princiotti, Lorenzo Reyes, and legendary broadcaster Mike Tirico all joined Brady in being left out of voting this time around.
Reasons?
The reason for Brady's absence from the list is still being debated, though Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk seems pretty certain that it's because Brady is a part-owner of the Las Vegas Raiders. Florio remains dumbfounded that Brady was included on last year's list of voters though.
"He shouldn’t have had a vote in 2024. He’s an owner of the Raiders. It’s another example of the clear and irreconcilable conflict of interest flowing from his insistence on working as a member of the media covering the entire league while owning part of one of its teams," Florio wrote.
"The AP defended Brady’s voting privileges in December 2024 with a broad statement that glossed over his ownership of the Raiders. 'As a credentialed media member who covers the NFL regularly, Tom Brady meets the requirement to vote for the AP NFL awards,' the AP said at the time. 'We are confident that the integrity of the voting process will be respected by all voters.'”
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Of course, fans tend to have a much bigger gripe with the people who do have votes over the people who don't. A simple look at the comments will show just who the people can't stand as both voices for football and voters in the AP.
Maybe Brady will get his vote back some day. With the way rules change on a dime, anything and everything feels possible in the NFL.