August 18, 2025
By Sam Weiger
With only one weekend of UFA action left, I've compiled a list of players I believe are the MVP finalists: Jeff Babbitt, Tobe Decreane, Daan de Marrée, Allan Laviolette, Austin Taylor, Chad Yorgason, and Justin Burnett. Having written with the UFA for three years now, I can confidently say this MVP race is nothing like the last two. What makes it truly unique is that with only one weekend left, there are still seven legitimate contenders in my mind. It's an incredible situation, so let's dive in.
Players are listed alphabetically.
Jeff Babbitt
A great way to measure a potential MVP’s impact is by comparing the team's performance with and without them, and the numbers don't lie. Of Boston's three losses, Babbitt was absent for two.
Babbitt was a game-changer in many of the team's most important moments this year. He was recognized on Evan Lepler’s Honor Roll following each of Boston’s three biggest victories: Week 4 against New York and DC, and the Divisional Championship Game. I believe his leadership on the field and in the huddle during big games like these has been more impactful than any other player vying for MVP.
Another key thing to note: Babbitt and de Marrée were more impactful two-way players—effective on both offense and defense—than the other MVP candidates. Babbitt stands out as the only candidate to record 20 goals and 20 blocks.
Even with all he's done for his team, I believe Babbitt has a lot of ground to make up in the MVP race. To win, he'll need a more dominant Championship Weekend than Burnett, Decreane, Taylor, and Yorgason. He only played nine regular season games (tied with de Marrée for the fewest among the five candidates), and he spent just four of those primarily on the O-line. As a result, his plus/minus, total yards, and total scores (assists + goals) are lower than all O-liners in my MVP race.
Here's an interesting fact: if Babbitt wins his third consecutive MVP, he would be only the second player ever to earn the award with more defensive points played than offensive points in the regular season. The last player to do this was Goose Helton in 2013.
Justin Burnett
Along with Babbitt, Justin Burnett is a standout among my seven finalists for his ability to consistently make plays in the biggest moments.
Just watch Minnesota's biggest game of the year, their recent quarterfinal matchup against the Union, and you'll see Burnett take over points and torment de Marrée one-on-one. Add another stellar performance in the first round of the playoffs (two huge blocks, one of them a Callahan) and a three-block showcase in his regular season revenge game against the Hustle, and you have the makings of an MVP finalist.
But what truly makes Burnett stand out is his "momentum-shifting" ability, a quality perfectly captured in the "Divisional Championship Players to Watch" article. He not only makes clutch plays but often does so with highlight-reel skies or layouts that consistently ignites his teammates.
But in my eyes, Burnett's momentum-shifting regular season performances were more DPOY-worthy, given the Wind Chill's 1-3 record against title contenders. His elevated postseason play, combined with Minnesota's recent success, has truly solidified his spot on my MVP contenders list.
Burnett’s currently ranked seventh on my list, though, so he needs a few things to happen to make a big jump. He must deliver a performance against Atlanta that is at least as good as his last two outings. For him to truly have a shot, Minnesota must first beat Atlanta, and then he'll need to follow that up with another strong game.
So which stat that worries me the most? The Wind Chill are the only UFA team with at least six players who have 12 blocks or more this year. Good luck trying to prove your standalone value on that stacked D-line, Justin.
Tobe Decreane
In his first season with the Glory, Tobe Decreane seamlessly took over the O-line, leading his team in total scores, total yards, plus/minus, and receiving yards. He leads the league in receiving yards and is projected to finish the season at the top.
Thanks to him, the Glory have maintained their position in the top quarter of the league for hold percentage and O-line conversion percentage. He has also been a primary contributor to Boston's increased red zone success rate this season.
Before the Divisional Championships, I had Decreane ranked third in my MVP rankings, below de Marrée and just a notch behind Taylor. Remarkably, Decreane's strong performance in the quarterfinals didn't change my view much, as Taylor and Babbitt had even better games.
Babbitt, believe it or not, might be Decreane's biggest obstacle to winning MVP. To claim the award, Decreane will need a more dominant performance at Championship Weekend than both Babbitt and Taylor. That will be a difficult task because of his 1A-1B situation in Boston, much like the dynamic between Kobe and Shaq. After seeing how large of a role Sam Rosenthal gave Babbitt last week, it’s possible that he could have a similar role in Madison, which would put Decreane at a disadvantage.
Daan de Marrée
Daan de Marrée was the league's top playmaker this year. He is expected to end the 2025 UFA season with the highest plus/minus and is the only player to have achieved a double-digit plus/minus in four games.
He will also be the sole member of the 30 assists, 30 goals, and 15 blocks club. I would argue his two-way impact was greater than anyone else's in the league; he's the only player to lead his team in goals, assists, and blocks. These two accomplishments, in my view, secure his position ahead of Laviolette in the MVP race.
If this were the NBA or NFL, and the MVP was based purely on his regular season showing in conjunction with his team's record, de Marrée would likely be the winner.
But because the UFA factors in playoff performances, the biggest argument against de Marrée is Chicago's early exit and the fact that his showing in the Divisional Championship was below what I was hoping for from an MVP candidate.
His plus/minus and completion percentage were the second-lowest of his UFA career. To complicate his MVP case further, he made two critical mistakes at the end of the quarterfinal—a risky pass into coverage and leaving Dylan DeClerck open—that ultimately contributed to Chicago being eliminated from the playoffs.
Allan Laviolette
Had Carolina made the playoffs and Allan Laviolette delivered an MVP-caliber postseason performance, he would currently be ranked in my top two for the MVP race. This is because he will very likely finish the year with the most total scores (89) and, in my opinion, had to carry his team on his shoulders more than any player on this list.
Unlike Taylor and Yorgason, who benefitted from a stacked O-line, and de Marrée, Burnett, Babbitt, and Decreane, who played with top-tier defensive units, Laviolette did not have the luxury of such strong support. His impressive accomplishments despite this significant disadvantage feel like the main argument for him as MVP.
Along with his 89 total scores, Laviolette had the highest huck percentage of any UFA player with at least 13 deep throws this year (86.49 percent on 32 completed hucks). He is also one of just two players to make four Honor Roll appearances this year and the only one to record nine or more assists in a game multiple times (achieving it three times).
Even with these incredible achievements, a significant historical precedent stands in his way: no UFA MVP has ever missed the playoffs in the year they won the award.
Consequently, I believe Laviolette will need a lot of help to secure the award. He likely needs all MVP finalists playing at Championship Weekend to have uncharacteristically average performances. And even if that were to happen, many would still rank him behind de Marrée due to de Marrée's superior two-way value.
Austin Taylor
At 33, Austin Taylor is having the best season of his nine-year career, a performance that has coincided with Atlanta's best-ever season. What makes his MVP case so compelling is a unique stat: he's the only player in the league this year to lead his team in completions, total scores, and total yards.
Taylor's consistency also sets him apart. As the only candidate who has played in every game this year, he has logged more MVP-caliber performances (11) than any of his peers. His exceptional throwing accuracy is another point in his favor. Among the four candidates with at least 250 completions, Taylor has the highest completion percentage—a feat made all the more impressive by his volume of 564 completions compared to Laviolette (393), Decreane (328), de Marrée (273), and Yorgason (260).
Alongside Laviolette, Taylor is one of only two players to earn four Honor Roll appearances this year. But unlike Laviolette, one of Taylor’s appearances was for a performance in the playoffs.
Nonetheless, many believe that Taylor’s regular season wasn’t as individually dominant as de Marrée's or Laviolette's, so the rest of the postseason will be a deciding factor in his MVP case. I believe Taylor is in a great position, largely because of the 1A-1B dynamic in Boston.
There's no doubt that Taylor would deserve the MVP award if he carries Atlanta to its first title. But his path to the award might not even require a championship. With coach Tuba Benson-Jaja always entrusting him as a primary playmaker, it's very likely he'll have at least one standout performance at Championship Weekend, and that could be all he needs.
Chad Yorgason
In his fourth season with the Shred, Chad Yorgason spent most of his time on the O-line, a first in his career. The numbers reflect just how much he contributed with this new opportunity.
Yorgason is leading his team in a handful of categories: total scores (68), total yards (6102), receiving yards (3286), hucks (24), huck percentage with at least eight hucks thrown (80 percent), and minutes played (288).
What makes Yorgason stand out in this race is his exceptional balance as a thrower and receiver. Among all UFA players who advanced to the playoffs, he's the only one to average at least 250 throwing and receiving yards per game. Looking at my other MVP finalists, he's the only one to exceed 2,500 yards in both categories this year. He also ranks second among them in total yards per game, trailing only Taylor.
While I'm impressed by his stats, I currently have him ranked sixth. I view Salt Lake's remarkable 12-game winning streak as a balanced team effort with a different top performer stepping up each week.
So to win MVP, the key for Yorgason is to erupt in the semifinal against Boston. If he outplays Babbitt and Decreane in a game of this magnitude, leading the Shred to the Championship Game with an eye-popping stat line and one or two clutch, game-changing plays, I'd be ready to move him ahead of those two, as well as Laviolette and maybe even de Marrée.
At that point, in my opinion, he would need to outplay Taylor or Burnett in the final to put himself in a prime position to win the MVP award.
