Football is such an exciting sport, and both the college and the professional game have numerous annual awards. These awards are given to a wide variety of people, ranging from kickers to team owners.

First off, the National Football League presents eight major awards after the completion of each season. The most prestigious award given by the National Football League is the Most Valuable Player award, which is voted on by the Associated Press and is given to the player who means the most to his team. Four players have won this award a record three total times. These special few are Brett Favre, Johnny Unitas, Jim Brown, and the most recent addition to the three time winner group, Peyton Manning, who won the NFL’s Most Valuable Player Award in 2009. Usually the winner of the MVP award is an offensive player, so the Defensive Player of the Year award is arguably the second most coveted award in professional football. This award is also voted upon and given by the Associated Press, and also has a three time winner, but only one. The one player to win this award an outstanding three times is perhaps the best linebacker to ever play the game of football, Lawrence Taylor, the former New York Giants player.

Some of the lesser known awards in the NFL are the Golden Toe Award (given to the best kicker), and the Comeback Player of the Year award, although their popularity in no way affects the significance of the season that is good enough to win these awards. The Golden Toe Award is presented by “Pro Football Weekly”, and was started in 1971. Some of the most famous winners of this award include: Ray Guy, Morten Anderson, Gary Anderson, and Matt Stover. On another note, the Comeback Player of the Year award is given to a player for beating the odds and performing despite facing adversity, whether it be returning from an injury, real-life problem, illness, or not being in the league the year before (excluding rookies). Players such as Joe Namath and Tedy Bruschi have won this honor.

One of college football’s many great features is their huge awards presentation at the end of each season. There are over fifteen awards handed out on one night, with a few others announced days later. The award equivalent to the NFL’s Most Valuable Player Award is the Heisman Trophy, given to the player in college football that had the best season. Finalists are brought to New York City for a fantastic awards ceremony, arguably the biggest trophy presentation in sports. Recent winners of the award are Sam Bradford, Tim Tebow, and Troy Smith. One of the positional awards given by college football is the Dick Butkus Award, given to the linebacker with the best seasonal performance. The award is named after the Hall-Of-Fame linebacker. Last year’s winner of the ward was Aaron Curry, from Wake Forest University.

Overall, football is one of the most popular sports in the world, and their amount and quality of awards displays its pride and history.