NFC Player of the Year

The NFC Player of the Year award was presented by the United Press International (UPI) to the top player in the National Football Conference (NFC) from 1970 through 1996 when the NFC Player of the Year award was discontinued.

NOTES: Beginning in 1975 the NFC Player of the Year was awarded to both and offensive and defensive player of the year. Bold entries denote players who went on to become members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame; Year fields link to the NFL season in review page, winner's names link to the player's page and team name links to the official roster for the year in which the player won the award.

"I can't define a weakness in Eric Dickerson. Although all great backs are multi-talented, most have one thing they do extremely well. But this guy can plow through a pile of bodies like (John) Riggins and then put on the moves like (Tony) Dorsett." - NFL Coach Dick Vermeil (USA Today, 06/19/2007)

NFC Player of the Year 1970 - 1996 NFC Player of the Year Award on Football Almanac
Year	Winner^(Quantity)	Position	Team / Roster^{(Franchise Qty)}
1970	John Brodie⁽¹⁾	Quarterback	1970 San Francisco 49ers⁽¹⁾
1971	Alan Page⁽¹⁾	Defensive Tackle	1971 Minnesota Vikings⁽¹⁾
1972	Larry Brown⁽¹⁾	Running Back	1972 Washington Redskins⁽¹⁾
1973	John Hadl⁽¹⁾	Quarterback	1973 Los Angeles Rams⁽¹⁾
1974	Jim Hart⁽¹⁾	Quarterback	1974 St. Louis Cardinals⁽¹⁾
1975	Fran Tarkenton⁽¹⁾	Quarterback	1975 Minnesota Vikings⁽²⁾
1975	Jack Youngblood⁽¹⁾	Defensive End	1975 Los Angeles Rams⁽²⁾
1976	Chuck Foreman⁽¹⁾	Running Back	1976 Minnesota Vikings⁽³⁾
1976	Wally Chambers⁽¹⁾	Defensive Tackle	1976 Chicago Bears⁽¹⁾
1977	Walter Payton⁽¹⁾	Running Back	1977 Chicago Bears⁽²⁾
1977	Harvey Martin⁽¹⁾	Defensive Tackle	1977 Dallas Cowboys⁽¹⁾
1978	Archie Manning⁽¹⁾	Quarterback	1978 New Orleans Saints⁽¹⁾
1978	Randy White⁽¹⁾	Defensive Tackle	1978 Dallas Cowboys⁽²⁾
1979	Ottis Anderson⁽¹⁾	Running Back	1979 St. Louis Cardinals⁽²⁾
1979	Lee Roy Selmon⁽¹⁾	Defensive End	1979 Tampa Bay Buccaneers⁽¹⁾
1980	Ron Jaworski⁽¹⁾	Quarterback	1980 Philadelphia Eagles⁽¹⁾
1980	Nolan Cromwell⁽¹⁾	Safety	1980 Los Angeles Rams⁽³⁾
1981	Tony Dorsett⁽¹⁾	Running Back	1981 Dallas Cowboys⁽³⁾
1981	Fred Dean⁽¹⁾	Defensive End	1981 San Francisco 49ers⁽²⁾
1982	Mark Moseley⁽¹⁾	Kicker	1982 Washington Redskins⁽²⁾
1982	No Defensive Pick	Not Applicable	Not Applicable
1983	Eric Dickerson⁽¹⁾	Running Back	1983 Los Angeles Rams⁽⁴⁾
1983	Lawrence Taylor⁽¹⁾	Linebacker	1983 New York Giants⁽¹⁾
1984	Eric Dickerson⁽²⁾	Running Back	1984 Los Angeles Rams⁽⁵⁾
1984	Mike Singletary⁽¹⁾	Linebacker	1984 Chicago Bears⁽³⁾
1985	Walter Payton⁽²⁾	Running Back	1985 Chicago Bears⁽⁴⁾
1985	Mike Singletary⁽²⁾	Linebacker	1985 Chicago Bears⁽⁵⁾
1986	Eric Dickerson⁽³⁾	Running Back	1986 Los Angeles Rams⁽⁶⁾
1986	Lawrence Taylor⁽²⁾	Linebacker	1986 New York Giants⁽²⁾
1987	Jerry Rice⁽¹⁾	Wide Receiver	1987 San Francisco 49ers⁽³⁾
1987	Reggie White⁽¹⁾	Defensive End	1987 Philadelphia Eagles⁽²⁾
1988	Roger Craig⁽¹⁾	Running Back	1988 San Francisco 49ers⁽⁴⁾
1988	Mike Singletary⁽³⁾	Linebacker	1988 Chicago Bears⁽⁶⁾
1989	Joe Montana⁽¹⁾	Quarterback	1989 San Francisco 49ers⁽⁵⁾
1989	Keith Millard⁽¹⁾	Defensive Tackle	1989 Minnesota Vikings⁽⁴⁾
1990	Randall Cunningham⁽¹⁾	Quarterback	1990 Philadelphia Eagles⁽³⁾
1990	Charles Haley⁽¹⁾	Linebacker	1990 San Francisco 49ers⁽⁶⁾
1991	Mark Rypien⁽¹⁾	Quarterback	1991 Washington Redskins⁽³⁾
1991	Reggie White⁽²⁾	Defensive End	1991 Philadelphia Eagles⁽⁴⁾
1992	Steve Young⁽¹⁾	Quarterback	1992 San Francisco 49ers⁽⁷⁾
1992	Chris Doleman⁽¹⁾	Defensive End	1992 Minnesota Vikings⁽⁵⁾
1993	Emmitt Smith⁽¹⁾	Running Back	1993 Dallas Cowboys⁽⁴⁾
1993	Eric Allen⁽¹⁾	Cornerback	1993 Philadelphia Eagles⁽⁵⁾
1994	Steve Young⁽²⁾	Quarterback	1994 San Francisco 49ers⁽⁸⁾
1994	Charles Haley⁽²⁾	Defensive End	1994 Dallas Cowboys⁽⁵⁾
1995	Brett Favre⁽¹⁾	Quarterback	1995 Green Bay Packers⁽¹⁾
1995	Reggie White⁽³⁾	Defensive End	1995 Green Bay Packers⁽²⁾
1996	Brett Favre⁽²⁾	Quarterback	1996 Green Bay Packers⁽³⁾
1996	Kevin Greene⁽¹⁾	Linebacker	1996 Carolina Panthers⁽¹⁾
1997	Award Discontinued	--	--
1997	Award Discontinued	--	--
Year	Winner^(Quantity)	Position	Team / Roster^{(Franchise Qty)}
NFC Player of the Year Award on Football Almanac

Did you know that Eric Dickerson was the first player in history to win two NFC Player of the Year Awards? Did you know that he is also one of only three players who have won the NFC Player of the Year Award three times during his career, and the other two (Mike Singletary & Reggie White) were both defensive players?

Nolan Cromwell (1980), Mark Moseley (1982) and Eric Allen (1993) have something in common besides all winning the NFC Player of the Year — each one of them played a position; safety, kicker and cornerback respectively, that only had one winner during the lifetime of the award.

Which player on the chart above deserved the NFC Player of the Year award the least? Which player should have won during that particular season? Which player has won this award AND the NFL Most Valuable Player Award? Share your opinion or discuss football trivia with us on Pigskin Fever today.

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