ClutchPoints
As the UFL prepares for its second-ever championship game, this time between the DC Defenders and the Michigan Panthers, the league has announced its MVP, giving the honor to none other than former Los Angeles Rams UDFA Bryce Perkins.
Originally coming to the Rams out of Virginia in 2020, Perkins spent two years in LA, winning a Super Bowl in the process, before exiting the league in 2023. From there, Perkins signed with the Panthers in 2024, midway through the team’s season. In 2025, Perkins earned his first start in Week 1 and led the team to the UFL Championship Game. Perkins started six of the seven games he appeared in, completing 69 percent of his passes for 1,342 yards plus nine touchdowns versus just two interceptions, while supplementing his production with 269 more yards and five more touchdowns on the ground.
With one game left to play and his UFL legacy on the line, only time will tell if Perkins will be able to thread the needle and add another championship to his resume, but regardless of the outcome, Perkins’ stock has never been higher and fans will be eager to see what that leads to moving forward.
Discussing his journey to the UFL MVP ahead of the league’s championship game with Jon Gruden, Perkins revealed that, for a time, it didn’t look like he would make it to the NFL, but he just kept grinding through adversity until he became a pro.
“Yeah, I think all those stops and all those challenges kind of helps you prepare and helps me prepare for whatever comes next, adversity-wise, right? Like, I broke my neck and the doctor said I may not play again. Kept the course, got clear, went to junior college, which, you know, was different, and went to Virginia. And then, you know, after you kind of go through something like that, anything that, you know, you kind of go through after, you can reflect on that,” Perkins noted.
“So I’ve always, in my journey, reflected on the times where it seemed like it was the darkest and ended up on the other side, and just kind of teaches you to put one foot in front of the other. You know, understand that, you know, your plan versus God’s plan, man, it’s always different, and you always end up where you need to be. You know, you can’t delay it or rush it.”
Still, the future Panthers quarterback persisted, and in the end, he made it to LA and finally Michigan, where his career has really taken off.
“So, you know, even coming out of Virginia, one of the, you know, one of the opportunities, it was a COVID year. It was a weird year. Pro days got canceled. I didn’t get invited to the combine, went on drafts to the Rams. And, you know, after all that, you know, it was still a shot and...
