The winner is chosen by votes from a nationwide panel of sportswriters who regularly follow the NFL.
Multiple-time awardees include Marshall Faulk and Earl Campbell, both of whom won the award three times, each consecutively.
Jerry Rice, Barry Sanders, Tom Brady, Terrell Davis, Drew Brees, and Peyton Manning have each won the award twice.
Manning is the only player to win the award with two different teams, doing so in 2004 with the Indianapolis Colts and in 2013 with the Denver Broncos.
[4] Marino's 5,084 yards stood as the record for 27 years before being broken by Drew Brees in 2011, who won that season's award.