Seven members of the Alabama Crimson Tide got some bling following the 2025 Super Bowl. Jalen Hurts, DeVonta Smith, Landon Dickerson, Tyler Steen, Eli Ricks, Byron Young, and Cameron Latu each played for the Philadelphia Eagles and won a Super Bowl ring. The jewelry included eighteen green stones for the number of wins that season, one hundred and forty five diamonds, for the number of playoff points, and little wings that pop out at the push of a button with the slogan “You can’t be great without the greatness of others,” a favorite slogan of Eagles coach Nick Sirianni.
No matter how Sunday’s Super Bowl between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks goes, at least three former member of the Crimson Tide will get rings of their own. Christian Barmore, Anfernee Jennings, and CJ Dippre play for the “Pats,” and Josh Jobe, Jalen Milroe, Robbie Outz, and Jarren Reed are with the “Hawks.”
“You know, I think the college I played at the highest level of college, going to the national championship,” said Seattle defensive tackle Jarren Reed. “And, you know, right now, I'm getting them same kind of vibes, you know, a little bit more media. And I think those two, you know, this is where we talk about coming as a kid, you know, being on the Super Bowl podium, and we're here now”
Reed played for Alabama’s retired coach Nick Saban in 2015 and helped the Crimson Tide beat Clemson for that year’s College Football Playoff national championship. He joined the Seahawks when he went professional, then moved onto the Kansas City Chiefs, and Green Bay Packers, before returning to Seattle in 2023. During a press scrum prior to the Super Bowl, he was asked about who was his greatest influence all this time?
“My mom, hands down,” he responded. “Seeing her all those nights she works everything she sacrificed to get me to where I'm at. Believe it or not, she was harder on me than any coach has ever been. You know, she never let me quit any anything. And she always told me, No, give 110% on what I do and go be great.”
That sense of state pride also extends to Auburn University. Former Tiger Carlton Davis III will play for New England, and Derick Hall and Nehemiah Pritchett will represent Seattle.
That question was just part of what happens before Jarren Reed or any of the other players suit up and take to the field. “Opening night” is where the teams meet with thousands of reporters from across the globe in a zany spectacle that kicks off the week’s festivities.
First, the athletes will meet more than 6,000 credentialed reporters who will pepper them with questions ranging from the standard football topics to the silly and offbeat stuff. The event began as a daytime introduction of the teams and evolved into a live, ticketed, prime-time showcase on national television.
Cooper Kupp says 18th regular-season game would need to make sense financially for players. Even though NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said expanding the regular season to 18 games is “not a given,” several players said they expect it to be discussed long before the current labor deal expires in 2030.
Seahawks receiver Cooper Kupp hinted that owners would have to give up a bigger piece of the financial pie to get it done.
“For the 18th game to happen, there’s obviously going to be some negotiation,” Kupp said. “There’s some things, give and take. Unfortunately, it’s one of those things. If the 18th game is on the table, there’s going to have to be some talks about what makes that worth it to the players. And we’ll get to that point. We’ll cross that bridge.”
Singer-songwriter Noah Kahan has a fan in Seahawks receiver Cooper Kupp. Asked to pick one person to perform during the Super Bowl halftime show, Kupp thought about it for a minute before going with Kahan.
“I have a few people I really love listening to,” Kupp said. “I’m a big Noah Kahan fan. Noah could get some people around him, too, that can make a pretty cool thing collaboratively come to life. So I’ll go with that one.”
Bad Bunny is the halftime act for Sunday’s game.
Of all the zaniness of the Super Bowl’s Opening Night, this one was hammier than most. A reporter presented Seahawks quarterback San Darnold with an oversized hat designed to look like a giant ham, complete with pineapple slices.
“I’ll wear it later,” Darnold said politely.
But the reporter asked him to wear it for a photo, and Darnold obliged. He also held up a poncho made from a Mexican blanket that had “Ham for Sam” printed on the front.
“You made this just for me?” Darnold asked. “You did not.”
On a more serious note, Darnold thanked his family for helping through his journey that started with the New York Jets and included stops in Carolina, San Francisco and Minnesota before Seattle.
“It’s important to have those people in your life,” he said. “The only thing that matters is if you believe in yourself. That’s really it. I always believed in myself. I knew that I could do this at a high level, and that was really it.
“That’s what kept me going. And I knew at some point an opportunity would arise. But even if I didn’t, I knew that I did everything that I could to become a better player, year in and year out.”
Patriots roll with their road white jerseys even though they’re the home team
The Patriots are the home team for the Super Bowl but will be wearing their road jerseys.
New England’s team captains were allowed to choose which uniform combination to wear as the home team. Coach Mike Vrabel joked that they chose white jerseys because “they are more slimming.”
The reality is the Pats are 9-0 on the road this season — undefeated in white tops.
“Let’s roll with the whites,” the team captains told Vrabel.
The Seahawks, meanwhile, will wear their home blue jerseys despite being designated the visiting team.
