You ever go through a former NFL star’s career statistics, accomplishments and bio and realize, unbeknownst to most, that they actually won a Super Bowl at one point?
Not sure about you, but that seems to happen with us more often than not. For whatever reason, many of us just seem to completely overlook the fact that a former NFL star won a Super Bowl — only to get little attention or recognition out of it.
Prepare to have your mind blown for this list as we present 10 NFL legends that you totally forgot won a Super Bowl.
Priest Holmes
Nearly two decades after his playing career ended, countless fans and analysts remain baffled over Holmes’ exclusion from the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Some day, we guess.
Now, everyone remembers Holmes’ days as the franchise star of the Kansas City Chiefs back in the 2000s. He led the NFL in rushing during the 2001 season and in rushing touchdowns in back-to-back years in 2002 and 2003. That included a ridiculous 27 rushing scores alone in the latter year.
Holmes only got to play in one postseason game during his tenure with the Chiefs, who didn’t win a single playoff contest from 1994 to 2017. It was hard not to feel bad for a guy like Holmes who carried the Chiefs on his back, only to get minimal team success out of it.
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Not to worry, folks. Holmes tasted Super Bowl champagne the year before he joined the Chiefs: Way-back-when with the Baltimore Ravens in the 2000 season.
Holmes played second-fiddle to fellow superstar and future rushing champion Jamal Lewis — who powered the Baltimore offense that year with 1,364 rushing yards in his rookie season.
Holmes was no slouch as the No. 2 RB, though, tallying 588 rushing yards and two scores in the regular season. The Ravens went on to crush the New York Giants in Super Bowl 35 — the first championship in franchise history.
Bernie Kosar
The Cleveland Browns franchise really hasn’t been the same since Kosar’s prime years. He single-handedly raised this struggling franchise to new heights during the ‘80s decade and got them oh-so-close to a Super Bowl not once, but three times.
Kosar led the Browns to AFC Championship Game appearances in the 1986, 1987 and 1989 seasons. ALL of them were losses to John Elway’s Denver Broncos, who wound up losing in each of those three Super Bowls anyway.
Kosar stomached an unfair amount of heartbreak. Elway and “The Drive” in the 1986 AFC Championship Game and “The Fumble” one year later — both of which have their own Wikipedia pages by the way.
The Browns never got to a Super Bowl despite Kosar’s stardom. But fortunately, an exit from Cleveland led to Kosar finally climbing the mountain top in the twilight of his career.
After his release from Cleveland, Kosar signed a one-year deal with the Dallas Cowboys as insurance following an injury to Troy Aikman.
Kosar even had to finish out the NFC Championship Game against the 49ers after Aikman suffered an injury, helping Dallas close out a 38-21 victory over their archrivals. The Cowboys went on to crush the Buffalo Bills in the Super Bowl in the big game for the second straight year.
At long last, the Cleveland Browns legend was a Super Bowl champion…just in a Cowboys jersey instead.
Jimmy Smith
When you think of Jimmy Smith, you immediately only picture him in a Jacksonville Jaguars uniform. The five-time Pro Bowler had his best seasons in Duval County — a tenure that lasted 11 years.
The Jackson State product played a pivotal role in the Jaguars’ rapid rise to prominence following their establishment in 1995. He led Jacksonville to AFC Championship Game appearances in 1996 and 1999 and put up 1,000-yard seasons in nine of his 11 NFL seasons.
Jacksonville, of course, has yet to reach the Super Bowl as an NFL franchise. But shed no tears for Smith, because the man is actually a proud owner of not one, but two Super Bowl championship rings.
Smith was actually a second-round pick of the Dallas Cowboys in 1992 and was part of the roster for Jimmy Johnson’s squad that won back-to-back championships in ‘92 and ‘93.
Unfortunately, appendicitis forced Smith to miss the entire second Super Bowl championship season. His life was even in jeopardy, but Smith made a full recovery and emerged as a star after joining Jacksonville in 1995.
But not before adding two shiny championship rings to his trophy room in Dallas.
Ted Washington
“Timing” is the ideal word to use to describe the absence of a Super Bowl ring during Washington’s prime years.
The hulking 6-foot-5, 365-pound nose tackle was drafted 25th overall by the San Francisco 49ers in 1991 — two seasons after the 49ers had just won their fourth Super Bowl in the Joe Montana era.
The 49ers traded Washington to the Denver Broncos in the 1994 offseason. That year, the 49ers cruised to a fifth Super Bowl championship, while Washington’s Broncos missed out on the postseason.
Washington would sign with the Buffalo Bills in 1995…just as their championship window was gradually closing. Nonetheless, Washington put up his best numbers with the Bills — where he earned three of his four Pro Bowl nods.
After a successful two-year stint with the Chicago Bears, Washington was traded to the New England Patriots in 2003. Finally, the timing worked for Washington — who would win a Super Bowl 38 ring with the dynastic Patriots. That year, Washington finished with two sacks and one forced fumble. The four-time Pro Bowler and one-time first-team
Eugene Robinson
If you’re an oldtimer Seattle Seahawks fan, then you remember Robinson was one of the franchise’s first true superstar-level players.
But the rest of us know Robinson as the guy who got arrested THE NIGHT BEFORE Super Bowl 33 between his Atlanta Falcons and Denver Broncos. Robinson was arrested in Miami by an undercover police officer posing as a prostitute that the veteran safety tried soliciting.
Robinson then memorably had an awful day in the Super Bowl — giving up an 80-yard touchdown by Broncos star Rod Smith. Denver went on to win 34-19 to repeat as Super Bowl champions in John Elway’s final act.
Maybe Robinson didn’t take Super Bowl 33 as seriously because he had already reached the peak a couple of years earlier. You folks probably don’t remember that Robinson was on Brett Favre’s Green Bay Packers in 1996 and 1997, winning his lone Super Bowl ring in the former year.
The three-time Pro Bowler was actually a key cog on that star-studded Packers team in 1996, recording six interceptions and 81 combined tackles en route to a Super Bowl 31 banner.
Robinson of course had the misfortunes of losing back-to-back Super Bowls to those very Broncos — in 1997 with Green Bay and in 1998 with Atlanta. But hey, batting .333 in the Super Bowl is better than batting .000!
Earnest Byner
Remember what we said earlier about Bernie Kosar’s Cleveland Browns losing to the Broncos in the 1987 AFC Championship Game in the play known as “The Fumble”?
Well, Byner himself was the culprit of that costly fumble. Yanno, the moment where he fumbled just short of the goal line when the Browns were on the verge of tying up the AFC title game with just over a minute left?
It’s truly a shame that this is how most people remember Byner, because he was one of the NFL’s more productive running backs during his playing career — finishing with 8,261 rushing yards and 56 touchdowns.
Browns fans never got over that fumble, but we’re more than positive that Mr. Byner has.
That’s because the two-time Pro Bowler made a stronger name for himself after joining Washington in 1989. In the ‘91 season, Byner rushed for 1,048 yards and helped Washington crush the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl 26 to cement their status as a dynasty.
He’s a scapegoat in Cleveland sports lore, but Byner changed his legacy as a winner and Super Bowl champion in Washington. That, folks, is how everyone should remember his playing career.
Keenan McCardell
McCardell and the aforementioned Jimmy Smith are among the greatest wide receiver duos in NFL history. It’s only fitting that the Jacksonville Jaguars’ legends both made this list, especially considering how similar their careers were.
Like Smith, McCardell started his career out of Jacksonville – and he didn’t finally break out until after he arrived in Duval County.
After spending his first four years with the Browns, McCardell joined the Jaguars in 1996. Together, McCardell, Smith and Mark Brunell led the Jaguars two AFC Championship appearances, but they fell short on both occasions.
McCardell, a five-time 1,000-yard wideout, finally broke through and reached the mountaintop as a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2002. Serving as the No. 2 wideout to Keyshawn Johnson, McCardell caught 61 passes for 670 yards and six touchdowns.
Riding one of the best defensive units ever assembled, the Bucs bullied their opponents into submission and crushed the Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl 37. McCardell caught two touchdowns from Brad Johnson in the big game to lead the Bucs to their first-ever Super Bowl championship.
London Fletcher
The undrafted product out of John Carroll enjoyed his best years with the Washington NFL team.
Fletcher was often overlooked during his prime years, however, because Washington was mired in mediocrity and didn’t win a single playoff game in his seven years with the organization.
It was hard not to feel for a heart-and-soul leader like Fletcher, who put up with so much in DC. But you can take solace in knowing that the ex-Buffalo Bill and St. Louis Ram actually won a championship ring back in his sophomore 1999 season.
The future four-time Pro Bowler signed with the Rams as an undrafted free agent in 1998. Fletcher played a key role on the Rams’ defense, while Kurt Warner and the “Greatest Show On Turf” offense did most of the lifting.
St. Louis defeated the Tennessee Titans in Super Bowl 34 for the franchise’s first title. Going from undrafted to Super Bowl champions, both Fletcher and Warner crafted quite the feel-good inspirational underdog stories.
Mark Brunell
Hey look! Another cornerstone from the ‘90s powerhouse Jacksonville Jaguars squad makes the list!
The lefty turned pro when the Green Bay Packers selected him in the fifth round — 118th overall — in 1993 to serve as a backup to Brett Favre. In 1995, the expansion Jaguars franchise acquired him in a blockbuster trade with the Packers — and the rest is history.
Brunell emerged as the Jaguars’ first true superstar franchise quarterback — guiding them to two AFC title game appearances and four playoff berths. The three-time Pro Bowler still holds a massive lead among every meaningful passing category in the Jaguars’ young history.
The Jaguars never broke through with a Super Bowl appearance. But fittingly like McCardell and Smith, Brunell would win a Super Bowl ring outside of Duval County anyway.
Brunell won his only Super Bowl championship with the New Orleans Saints in the 2009 season, serving as a backup to Drew Brees. Brunell even got the start for the Saints’ meaningless Week 17 game against Carolina.
After winning his ring in 2009, Brunell joined the New York Jets to back up Mark Sanchez for the final two years of his career.
Rickey Jackson
It was Jackson’s tenure with the New Orleans Saints that put him in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but he fortunately jumped ship JUST IN TIME to add a championship ring to his gold jacket career.
The superstar linebacker entered the NFL in 1981 and played 13 of his 15 seasons in the Big Easy. Along the way, Jackson earned seven Pro Bowl nods and five second-team all-pro selections.
Incredibly, Jackson also led the NFL in forced fumbles in four different seasons. No other player in history has led the league in that category more than thrice.
After the 1993 season, Jackson signed a cheap one-year deal with the star-studded 49ers, who had just added another future Hall of Fame defensive superstar in Deion Sanders. The new 49ers dream team danced their way through the league, and it culminated with a blowout of the San Diego Chargers in Super Bowl 29.
That year, Jackson had 3.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and as many fumble recoveries. Jackson spent one more year with the 49ers in 1995 before hanging up the cleats on his Hall of Fame career.
What other legends do folks forget won a Super Bowl championship
