CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) – A Charlotte native and former Carolina Panthers star player are both finalists for the NFL MVP award, the Associated Press announced Thursday.
New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye — who grew up in Charlotte and played at Myers Park High School — is one of five finalists for the award. San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey — who previously starred for the Panthers — is another.
In addition to Maye and McCaffrey, former Clemson and current Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence is also a finalist.
Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen and Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford are the other two finalists.
Stafford is seemingly the favorite to win MVP, which is given to the league’s best player each year.
Maye — who played college football at the University of North Carolina — is viewed by many as the second favorite.
The former Tar Heel and 2024 first-round draft pick helped engineer a massive turnaround for the Patriots in 2025. The 23-year-old started all 17 regular-season games for New England and helped them to a 14-3 record, just one year after the team went 4-13.
Maye passed for 31 touchdowns and nearly 4,400 yards in 2025, and ran for another 450 yards and four scores.
Meanwhile Stafford threw 46 touchdown passes during the regular season with just over 4,700 yards.
Then McCaffrey proved to again be perhaps the best all-around running back in the NFL — maybe even in the league’s history. Also up for comeback player of the year, he rebounded from an injury-plagued 2024 campaign to account for more than 2,100 rushing and receiving yards to go with 17 touchdowns.
Aside from Maye, Stafford and McCaffrey — Allen is the defending MVP and Lawrence put up the best season of his career, five years after the Jaguars drafted him with the No. 1 pick out of Clemson.
The winner will be announced during the annual NFL Honors show, which will be broadcast live at 9 p.m. EST on Thursday, Feb. 5.
Charlotte native Drake Maye (left) and former Panthers star Christian McCaffrey (right) are both finalists for the NFL’s MVP award.(AP photos)Panthers’ McMillan up for offensive rookie of the year
The only Panther up for any of the eight AP awards this year is wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan, who is one of five finalists for offensive rookie of the year.
Carolina chose McMillan — known as “TMac” — with the eighth overall pick in the 2025 draft. His selection surprised many Panthers fans, who thought the team should have drafted a defensive player. It’s safe to say he proved the Panthers right.
McMillan showed an immediate chemistry with quarterback Bryce Young, and set the Panthers’ rookie receiving record with 1,014 yards. He added seven touchdowns, including one that beat Stafford and the Rams in a rainy November nailbiter.
McMillan took over as the favorite to win the award during the second half of the season, and led all rookies in receiving yards and touchdowns. Perhaps his biggest challenger in the offensive rookie of the year race is New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough.
The 22-year-old, Hawaiian-born receiver was named the Pro Football Writers of America’s rookie of the year, offensive rookie of the year, and to the organization’s all-rookie team on Jan. 20.
Panthers receiver Tetairoa McMillan is viewed as the favorite for the Offensive Rookie of the Year award.(Jacob Kupferman | AP)Click here for more sports coverage
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