What is the NVP? History of the Nickelodeon Valuable Player after Baker Mayfield's Week 16 two-peat

The NFL and Nickelodeon have teamed up since 2021 with the networks tying up and awarding what is called the NVP award, which stands for 'Nickleodeon Valuable Player'.

The Christmas Day clash between the Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Rams saw the two teams going at it with the NVP at stake. Similar to the NFL's MVP award, the NVP is given to a player whose performance tops that of the previous week. The award is voted by fans as well.

Nickelodeon started the craze during the regular season of 2021 and the NVP was given during their weekly show, NFL Slimetime. This was largely done to help promote the game to a younger audience.

The whole shebang was carried out using special graphics on the Nickelodeon telecast on CBS. This includes slime on players and some unique visual aids in between the goalposts as well.

There is an NVP award for each week of the NFL season. Last year in the playoffs between the San Francisco 49ers and the Dallas Cowboys, Dak Prescott went home with the award despite losing the match.

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How does NVP voting work?

NVP voting is done by the fans, though this is a double-edged sword, as we found out last year. Given that NFL fans choose who receives the award, it can sometimes go to a player who could be, shall we say, relatively less deserving.

Cowboys quarterback Prescott won it for a playoff loss last year as many did not appear to take the voting all that seriously. The Cowboys lost 23-17 with Prescott throwing for 254 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

With Nickelodeon trying to get into the football space, doing things like special graphics and giving out awards is a good way to get its foot in the door.

Like the NFL's MVP award, it is largely won by quarterbacks. At this stage, there is no playoff game on Nickelodeon so the Week 16 clash between the Rams and Broncos will be the only one.