Historical NFL Comeback Player of the Year Odds from Past Seasons

• Look back at historical odds to win NFL Comeback Player of the Year from past seasons
• 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey won the most recent award, but he was neck-and-neck with Dak Prescott for much of the season
• Looking for current NFL Comeback Player of the Year odds?

While NFL Comeback Player of the Year may not see the same consistent betting handle as other major NFL player awards, there have been some years where it has garnered major attention. This is why I got a bit of a later start tracking and documenting the Comeback Player of the Year futures, but I do have every season since 2022. I have archived each previous year in that timeframe below, allowing you to see the NFL CPOY odds for each year at opening and throughout the season right up to when the award was handed out.

2025 Season | 2024 | 2023 | 2022

2025 NFL Comeback Player of the Year Odds

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The 2025-26 NFL Comeback Player of the Year odds opened in late-February. Christian McCaffrey opened as one of the top contenders, but he was not the favorite when odds were released – that honor belonged to Aidan Hutchinson. But Hutchinson’s odds faded quickly as Detroit’s defense struggled through the season.

McCaffrey found himself battling Dak Prescott for the CPOY award most of the season, but appeared to seal the honors by mid-December as Prescott’s play started to crumble. CMC was awarded Comeback Player of the Year at the NFL Honors ahead of Super Bowl 60. You can see how the odds to win the 2025-26 award changed throughout the season below.Christian McCaffrey was listed as the heavy favorite to win the 2025-26 NFL Comeback Player of the Year the last time odds were made available. The 49ers’ RB was given consensus odds of -925 to win the award after missing the majority of the 2024-25 season due to Achilles tendinitis.

His odds opened at +300, which were just a little better than Prescott’s +313, but a little worse than Hutchinson’s +248 odds.

The finalists for 2025-26 Comeback Player of the Year were as follows:

1. Christian McCaffrey (winner)
2. Trevor Lawrence
3. Dak Prescott
4. Aidan Hutchinson
5. Stefon Diggs

Here are some notes on the 2025-26 NFL Comeback Player of the Year odds movement:

• [December 9] McCaffrey took back over as the favorite while on bye in Week 14, thanks to Prescott throwing two interceptions and recording a loss to the Lions.
• [December 2] Dak Prescott took back over as the CPOY favorite following Week 13, where he threw for 320 yards and two touchdowns while beating the Chiefs. McCaffrey had a bit of a quiet game in Week 13, only totaling 53 rushing yards on 20 carries, as basically every running back has against the Browns this season.
• [November 4] After two bad games in a row from Prescott in Weeks 8 and 9, Christian McCaffrey took back over as the favorite to win CPOY.
• [October 15] Dak Prescott overtook CMC as the favorite to win Comeback Player of the Year following another strong performance in Week 6.
• [September 9] After touching the ball 31 times and producing 142 yards from scrimmage in helping the 49ers record a Week 1 win, Christian McCaffrey became the new favorite to win NFL CPOY.
• [August 27] Rashee Rice accepted the NFL’s six-game suspension, which saw his CPOY odds worsen from +1950 in July to +7500.
• [August 20] After losing the QB battle in Indianapolis, Anthony Richardson’s CPOY odds fell from +3000 to +5500.
• [August 15] As it became more clear Brandon Aiyuk would not be ready for Week 1, and maybe not within the first couple of weeks, his CPOY odds fell from an average of +2550 in May to +5250 at this point.
• [July 22] Aidan Hutchinson took back over as the favorite to win NFL Comeback Player of the Year. He and Prescott had very similar odds, but Hutchinson took the lead.
• [June 10] Nick Chubb’s odds improved from +7000 to +4750 after signing with the Texans.
• [March 12] Early money flowed in on Dak Prescott to win CPOY, resulting in him becoming the favorite during free agency.
• [February 24] Aidan Hutchinson has opened as the favorite to win NFL Comeback Player of the Year for the 2025-26 season. Hutchinson was the NFL DPOY favorite prior to a gruesome leg injury he suffered in Week 6 last year. While this award has been dominated by quarterbacks lately, Hutchinson would be a top contender if he returns close to last year’s form. Other top contenders at opening included Christian McCaffrey, who missed almost the entire last season, Dak Prescott, Trevor Lawrence, and JJ McCarthy.

2024 NFL Comeback Player of the Year Odds

After a couple years of losing its true meaning, the 2024-25 NFL Comeback Player of the Year award went back to being about a player who overcame some major injury the previous season. Joe Burrow won the NFL CPOY award for the 2024-25 NFL season, after playing in just ten games the previous season due to a wrist injury. Burrow returned to form and led an extremely high-powered Cincinnati offense.

While some were complaining that Sam Darnold did not win the award, they obviously did not listen to the memo from the league, where they asked voters to return the award to its original intent. Sportsbooks even had Darnold listed with short odds and he was named a finalist for the award. The odds for 2024 NFL CPOY fluctuated quite a bit in the early stage of the 2024-25 NFL season. You can see the 2024 NFL Comeback Player of the Year odds below from the time they opened in mid-May right through to the NFL Honors.

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After taking just three snaps in his first season as a New York Jet last year, thanks to a torn Achilles, Aaron Rodgers opened as the favorite to win the 2024-25 NFL Comeback Player of the Year award. But Rodgers’ slow start to the season lingered, and he was displaced as the favorite by Kirk Cousins. The first-year Falcons quarterback threw for 509 yards in Week 5 to take over as the favorite.

However, we saw a new favorite to win NFL CPOY after Week 12, as Joe Burrow overtook Cousins while both players were on bye. Burrow remained the favorite since then.

There was stiff competition for the award, though, as there were a number of star players, especially star QBs, who saw their previous seasons cut short due to injury. Kirk Cousins, Aaron Rodgers, and Kyler Murray were among the top contenders for the award early in the season, but Burrow became a heavy favorite down the stretch.

Here are some notes on the 2024-25 NFL Comeback Player of the Year odds movement:

• [February 6] Joe Burrow was named the NFK Comeback Player of the Year for the 2024-25 NFL season at the NFL Honors.
• [January 23] Joe Burrow, Sam Darnold, JK Dobbins, Christian Gonzalez, and Damar Hamlin were named the finalists for the 2024-25 NFL CPOY award.
• [December 3] Kirk Cousins had a horrific Week 13, throwing four interceptions and costing his Falcons the game. After the bad performance, his CPOY odds faded from +230 to +800.
• [November 26] Though both players were on bye in Week 12, Joe Burrow overtook Kirk Cousins as the NFL CPOY favorite. The two entered Week 12 only separated by a handful of cents in the odds, but Burrow came out of the weekend as the odds-on favorite.
• [November 5] After Week 9, Kirk Cousins went from the favorite to win NFL CPOY to the odds-on favorite, seeing his odds improve from +185 to -105.
• [October 8] Kirk Cousins took over as the NFL CPOY favorite after throwing for 509 yards in a big Falcons win during Week 5. This marks the first time this season that Aaron Rodgers, who dropped to the second-best odds, is not the favorite.
• [September 24] Anthony Richardson, who was among the top six contenders entering Week 3, saw his odds plummet from +900 to +2400 after another horrendous performance. Richardson threw two bad interceptions and nearly cost the Colts a win.
• [September 17] After another solid performance in Week 2, JK Dobbins’ NFL CPOY odds continued to improve. The Chargers RB saw his odds go from +1150 to +450, which are the second-best odds following Week 2.
• [September 10] Daniel Jones, who was seen as a top ten contender prior to Week 1, saw his odds fade from +1900 to +3500 after a horrendous game against the Vikings. The QB on the other side of the field in that game, Sam Darnold, saw his odds improve from +1600 to +750. But beware getting behind this odds movement, as Darnold winning this award would completely go against the memo the league sent out to voters on the purpose of NFL Comeback Player of the Year. JK Dobbins saw the most drastic movement, though, as he went from +3500 to +1200 after rushing for 135 yards and a touchdown against the Raiders.
• [August 27] As it continues to sound like Nick Chubb’s return is getting pushed later and later in the year, his CPOY odds are fading. He was +850 in early August, but has faded to +1200 just a couple weeks before kickoff. Sam Darnold’s odds have improved a ton as he not only appeared to be winning the camp battle with JJ McCarthy, but the job will be his as the rookie QB will miss the season due to injury.
• [August 6] With it sounding like JK Dobbins will be ready to play Week 1, and potentially playing a key role in the Chargers’ backfield, his CPOY odds have improved from +6000 to +3750. Russell Wilson, on the other hand, doesn’t seem to have as firm a grasp on the starting job in Pittsburgh as we believed. Wilson’s CPOY odds have faded from +1200 to +3000 as a result.
• [May 15] NFL Comeback Player of the Year odds have opened and Aaron Rodgers is the early favorite. The Jets’ QB has opened with +138 odds to win the award. Joe Burrow has the next-best odds at +225.

2023 NFL Comeback Player of the Year Odds

The NFL Comeback Player of the Year award was given to Joe Flacco in 2023-24, which caused some major controversy over what the award was intended to honor. Bills safety Damar Hamlin was the favorite all season at the sportsbooks, due to Hamlin returning to play after literally dying on the football field in a primetime game – they canceled the game midway through. If you weren’t already aware of how much the media (voters) favor quarterbacks over everything else, this should be a wake up for you.

The 2023 NFL Comeback Player of the Year odds opened in mid-February. You can see how the 2023 NFL CPOY odds changed throughout the 2023-24 NFL season below.

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Bills safety Damar Hamlin was the favorite to win NFL Comeback Player of the Year for the 2023-24 NFL season, and had been the favorite since opening.

Hamlin was returning from an incredibly scary incident the previous season that saw his heart stop on the field. The Bills defender needed to be revived on the field and the rest of the game was canceled following the injury. Joe Flacco, Baker Mayfield, Matthew Stafford, and Tua Tagovailoa rounded out the top five contenders.

The NFL Comeback Player of the Year finalists were: Damar Hamlin, Joe Flacco, Baker Mayfield, Tua Tagovailoa, and Matthew Stafford.

Damar Hamlin was listed as the odds-on favorite to win the 2023-24 NFL Comeback Player of the Year the last time books offered betting. The Bills’ safety was given -140 odds to win the award.

Next up on the board was Browns quarterback Joe Flacco, who came out of nowhere to save the Browns’ season and get them into the playoffs. Flacco ultimately went on to win the award, making it the second year in a row a player won this award for coming back from being bad – not injury.

Here are some notes on the NFL Comeback Player of the Year odds movement:

• [February 8] In a surprise to some, Joe Flacco was named the NFL Comeback Player of the Year for 2023-24.
• [January 25] Damar Hamlin, Joe Flacco, Baker Mayfield, Tua Tagovailoa, and Matthew Stafford have been named the NFL CPOY finalists by the AP.
• [November 14] Damar Hamlin’s odds improved after the Bills safety got his first snaps of the season in Week 10. Hamlin went from -110 to -200.
• [November 6] After being forced into action in Week 9 with no practice as a Viking, Josh Dobbs led Minnesota to a huge win over the Falcons. Dobbs had only been with the team for a handful of days after the Cardinals traded the QB to Minnesota at the deadline. The new Vikings QB saw his NFL CPOY odds improve from +10000 to +800, the third-best odds, after Week 9.
• [September 18] After being inactive for a second straight week, Damar Hamlin’s NFL CPOY odds continue to fade, this time to -115. Tua Tagovailoa’s odds have now gone from +800 to +250 after picking up a Week 2 win in New England.
• [September 11] Damar Hamlin has gone from -285 to -200 odds to win NFL Comeback Player of the Year after it was announced he would not be active for the Bills’ Week 1 game against the Jets. Tua Tagovailoa saw his odds improve from +2000 to +800 after torching the Chargers defense. Calvin Ridley also saw his odds improve, going from +3500 to +1000, after posting more than 100 receiving yards and a touchdown against the Colts. Be careful with Ridley, though. I’m not sold on the NFL handing this award to someone who missed last season due to suspension (gambling).
• [June 5] With Hamlin participating in offseason workouts, the safety takes another giant step towards returning to the field. Hamlin’s CPOY odds have improved to -500, making him an overwhelming favorite to win the award. This is the heaviest favorite I can recall at this point of the season for any player award.
• [February 24] Bills safety Damar Hamlin has opened as the favorite to win NFL Comeback Player of the Year in 2023-24.

2022 NFL Comeback Player of the Year Odds

Seahawks QB Geno Smith won NFL Comeback Player of the Year for the 2022-23 NFL season. This was the first time since 2013 that the award was given to a player who did not sustain a major injury the year prior. Smith simply was not a starting quarterback in the league since the 2014 season, as he served in backup roles. With this being such a polarizing year for the award, the odds to win 2023 NFL CPOY were understandably all over the place.

You can see the 2022 NFL CPOY odds below as well as how the odds changed throughout the season.

Derrick Henry opened as the favorite to win the NFL CPOY award and remained the favorite until rookie Brian Robinson Jr was shot twice late in the preseason. Robinson Jr is off crutches and has a chance to return by Week 5.

Jameis Winston took over as the new favorite after Week 1, but Saquon Barkley held that title after Week 3 right through Week 9. Geno Smith displaced him as the favorite following Week 9, but gave it back after Week 10. It flip flopped again to Geno as the favorite following Week 11. Smith, Barkley, and Christian McCaffrey have been locked in a tight race over the final month of the regular season. We did not see odds reopen after Week 18 kicked off.

Closing 2022 Odds to Win NFL CPOY

Odds as January 3 at DraftKings Sportsbook

Geno Smith and Christian McCaffrey had the best odds to win the NFL Comeback Player of the Year award entering Week 18. Their odds were listed at +175, implying they each had a 36.4% chance to win the award.

Here are some notes on the NFL Comeback Player of the Year odds movement:

• [February 9] Geno Smith was named the 2023 NFL CPOY at the NFL Honors.
• [January 3] Christian McCaffrey and Geno Smith are listed as co-favorites to win NFL Comeback Player of the Year after Week 17.
• [December 26] After totalling 133 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown in Week 16, Saquon Barkley has seen his odds improve from +2200 to +175. This ties him with Geno Smith, who posted a season-low 74.5 passer rating against the Chiefs, for the best odds to win the award.
• [December 19] After not receiving odds all season, Jared Goff has shown up out of nowhere listed at +225 odds to win NFL CPOY. He is tied with Christian McCaffrey for the second-best odds on the board, only behind Geno Smith, who is favored at +100. Smith’s odds have worsened from -900 to +100 in the last week.
• [November 21] After a lousy 22 yards on 15 carries in Week 11 against the Lions, Saquon Barkley’s odds faded from -115 to -105. Geno Smith has become the favorite again with -130 odds.
• [November 15] Geno Smith only lasted one week as the NFL CPOY favorite. The Seahawks loss to the Bucs in Germany saw Smith’s odds fade from -135 to -110, letting Saquon Barkley move back to being the favorite.
• [November 7] Geno Smith has taken over as the new favorite to win NFL Comeback Player of the Year, as his odds improved from +225 to -135 after he led the Seahawks to a win over the Cardinals in Week 9. Saquon Barkley has moved to second, as his odds dropped from -155 to +140 while his Giants were on bye.
• [November 1] After making an incredible return to the field in Week 8, Nick Gates has shown up on the odds board, seeing +1900 odds to win NFL CPOY. Gates, a center for the Giants, suffered a compound fracture in his leg in a Week 3 game last season that required seven surgeries, and there were talks of potential amputation. But Gates fought through and made his return in Week 8.
• [October 25] Travis Etienne Jr’s odds improved from +10000 to +2500 after the Jaguars traded James Robinson to the Jets, clearing the path for Etienne to be a workhorse in Jacksonville.
• [October 12] After yet another very strong performance in Week 5, Geno Smith has seen his NFL CPOY odds improve from +3000 to an average of +950. Smith has the second-best odds on the board, behind only Saquon Barkley, who is now the odds-on favorite at -245.
• [October 4] Saquon Barkley continues to near even-money to win the NFL CPOY award. Barkley’s NFL CPOY odds are now +150, improving from +250 before Week 4. JK Dobbins’ odds improved from +3000 to +1300 following a three-touchdown performance against the Bills.
• [September 27] Another good game from Saquon Barkley in Week 3, which saw him total 126 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown, has made him the favorite to win NFL Comeback Player of the Year. Barkley’s odds improved from +600 to +250. Jameis Winston’s odds fell from +600 to +1600 after turning in his second straight game with multiple interceptions.
• [September 20] After another lousy performance in Carolina’s Week 2 loss to the Giants, Baker Mayfield’s odds to win NFL CPOY have faded from +800 to +2500. Jameis Winston and Saquon Barkley are now listed as co-favorites, but no player is really breaking away from the pack right now.
• [September 12] After leading his Saints to a comeback win over the Falcons in Week 1, Jameis Winston has become the new favorite to win NFL Comeback Player of the Year. His odds improved from +550 to +500. His teammate Michael Thomas saw his odds improve from +1200 to +600, the second-best odds on the board, after hauling in two touchdowns against Atlanta.
• [September 7] Washington Commanders rookie RB Brian Robinson Jr was shot during an attempted robbery late in the preseason. The third-round pick has already shed his crutches and is targeting a Week 5 return. The crazy turnaround after being shot twice in the knee has resulted in Robinson Jr becoming the new favorite to win NFL Comeback Player of the Year. Derrick Henry is now a close second in the NFL CPOY odds after being the favorite basically all offseason.
• [July 27] Though his first day at Panthers training camp didn’t look the best, Baker Mayfield’s NFL Comeback Player of the Year odds have improved from +1800 to +1200 thanks to being traded to Carolina. The new home gives Mayfield a chance to compete for the starting job.
• [April 11] Derrick Henry has opened as the favorite to win the 2022 NFL Comeback Player of the Year award. Henry missed more than half of the 2021 season with a foot fracture, but is expected to be at full speed come Week 1 of the 2022 season.