Lamar Jackson emerged as the winner of the highly coveted NFL MVP accolade, securing an overwhelming majority of the votes. However, it was not without controversy, as he missed out on the opportunity to become the first two-time unanimous MVP in NFL history by a single vote.
During discussions on the matter, Stephen A. Smith expressed his strong disapproval towards the individual who voted in favor of another player instead of Jackson. The ESPN analyst criticized this decision, believing it robbed the 27-year-old quarterback of making history. Jackson received 49 out of 50 first-place votes, with the only dissenting vote coming from Aaron Schatz.
Smith voiced his opinion on First Take, calling out the voter who didn’t give Jackson a first-place MVP vote. He labeled it as a “stupid homer vote,” suggesting that the individual may have been afraid of facing backlash from the locker room if they had voted against Josh Allen. Smith believed that this compromised the integrity of the award.
While Smith’s argument highlights the bias among the award voters, it is not without its own criticism. However, Schatz of FTN Fantasy did not shy away from scrutiny. He shared his complete ballot and provided a detailed explanation for each of his votes. Schatz justified his decision to choose Allen and over Jackson, stating that it was not driven by any personal vendetta against the Ravens quarterback.
Contrary to Smith’s accusation, Schatz’s selection does not appear to have an ulterior motive. He is not a Bills beat writer, nor does he have significant interactions with Allen. It is worth noting that Schatz did acknowledge Jackson’s performance by placing him in third place in his ballot. However, he did not include and in his choices.
Ultimately, while Jackson had an impressive season in 2023-24, there are arguments suggesting that it may not have reached the level of a unanimous MVP caliber. The final results reflect this perspective.
According to the Source firstsportz.com