🌳 Often held during the first or second Sunday of February, the Super Bowl is the most prestigious NFL event of the season. In 2024, although the Kansas City Chiefs reigned supreme, Michigan boasted the most participants in the big game. Read on for more about top Michigan players in Super Bowl LVIII, MI Super Bowl history data, and the best MI Super Bowl sportsbooks!
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Michigan Players in Super Bowl 2024
🦂 Despite not making it to Super Bowl LVIII, the Detroit Lions enjoyed a pretty remarkable 2023 NFL season. From clinching their first-ever NFC North title to making it to the NFC Championship Game since 1992, Michiganders had a good dose of local pride this past season. The odds for this season were pretty competitive and we could enjoy regular action.
ཧ Even better, there were 11 Michigan players in Super Bowl 2024: 7 on the 49ers roster and four on the Chiefs roster. Here are some noteworthy names and their overall performance in the big game.
Ronnie Bell
🍨 A 2023 seventh-round pick, Ronnie Bell was part of the Niners' dynamic skill-position players. Although he didn't get any playtime during the big game, Bell caught six passes for 68 yards this NFL season, which was his first, with three advancing to the endzone. A solid start for a rookie receiver, given that most of his game action resulted from fellow wideout Ray-Ray McCloud’s absence.
ꦅ Bell played for the University of Michigan (Michigan Wolverines) from 2018 to 2022. During that period, he played all 13 games, landed 145 receptions for 2,269 yards, and scored nine touchdowns.
꧃ What's more, he won the Rookie of the Year (Offense) Award in 2018, Offensive Skill Player of the Year in 2022, was voted team captain in 2021, and became a two-time winner of the All-Big Ten Honoree award.
🍸 With the Niners, he played all 17 2023 NFL regular season games. And while ball security concerns wreaked Bell's performance, there are still high hopes for him as a solid Niners receiver this coming NFL season.
Jake Moody
ꦰ As a rookie kicker on the 49ers roster, Jake Moody's first Super Bowl appearance is definitely one for the books. Yes, he was the first to break the 30-year Super Bowl record for the longest field goal with his 55-yard field goal in the second quarter. However, Moody's attempt to score the 49ers a four-point lead in the fourth quarter is what many believe to have cost the team the Super Bowl LVIII title.
🃏 Nonetheless, that doesn't mean Moody's reliability as a kicker should be questioned. Despite his evident lows, he also had several highs. That includes making 22 of his 26 field goal attempts, three out of four from at least 50 yards. As a matter of fact, Moody ranks high as one of the best Michigan players in Super Bowl this year.
﷽ The Northville native and Northville High School graduate joined the Michigan Wolverines back in 2018, and within five years, he definitely proved his prowess on several occasions. From setting the Wolverines single-game record with six field goals in his first game, winning a Lou Groza award as well as the consensus All-American award in 2021, to setting the longest field goal (59 yards) in Fiesta Bowl history in 2022.
♏ There's no denying that Moody has a strong leg. In fact, many believe that his impeccable Wolverines stats are why he was a 2023 third-round pick, the second kicker picked within the first 100 rounds of the last 15 NFL Drafts.
Ambry Thomas
ℱ Born and raised in Detroit, Ambry Thomas is another notable name in this year's list of Michigan State Players in Super Bowl. A 2021 third-round pick, Thomas's history with the 49ers has primarily featured tons of injury reports, including an ankle injury during the initial SB LVIII prep.
𓄧 During the Super Bowl LVIII, Thomas didn't get to start the game or register any noteworthy statistics despite participating in a few key plays late. Nonetheless, the third-year cornerback started 13 of the 2023 NFL regular season games. He also started in the team's two playoff games, recording 11 tackles.
His four-year college football career as a Wolverine (2016 – 2020) was pretty impressive. Serving as a backup in the first two years, he had one interception and 16 tackles. Despite a colitis diagnosis, he started his first Wolverine game and the following 12 games in the 2019 season, allowing him to record three interceptions and 38 tackles.
🐻 Even better, his performance that season earned him an All-Big Ten Honoree title, the team's defensive player of the year, and several more, in addition to earning his third varsity letter. Oh, and don't forget his Academic All-Big Ten Honoree title and being a special teams player in 2018.
Mike Danna
꧋ Although he was not the flashiest defensive end on the Chiefs, Mike Danna is the only MI player to also feature on the list of Michigan Wolverines in Super Bowl 2023. A fifth-round 2020 NFL Draft pick, Danna is also the only MI player who took the field in Vegas this year with a Super Bowl ring already under his belt. However, he is now in the open market after his four-year rookie contract with the Chiefs expired.
💞 Before joining KC and landing his two back-to-back Super Bowl rings, Danna played for the Wolverines for a year. And the lone year did not stop him from coming in clutch for the team. Appearing in 13 games, he recorded 48 tackles, three sacks, and a forced fumble. Yet he only started one game the entire season.
꧅ Prior to that, Danna played for Central Michigan, where he earned three varsity letters, alongside an MVP (Most Valuable Player) award and First Team Defense All-Mid-American Conference honors in 2018, among setting many other records.
ꦚ And evidently, his remarkable performance didn't stop there. Particularly in Super Bowl 2024, Danna, alongside the relentless George Kalarftis, made the 49ers sweat several times. That includes blocking fellow former MI player Jake Moody's attempt to earn the 49ers a four-point lead in the fourth quarter.
ඣ While anticipating Michigan Super Bowl 2025, we can only check odds on the best bookmakers like FanDuel and support favorite players along the way.
Michigan's Super Bowl history
📖 Former Michigan players in Super Bowl have helped make Super Bowl history each year. And, of course, we cannot speak of Michigan's Super Bowl history without discussing the greatest quarterback of all time, Tom Brady, and his spectacular 23 NFL seasons.
ꦐ With almost all prestigious accolades attached to his name, Brady's NFL career started in Michigan, where he played from 1995 to 2000. Admittedly, his college football career started slow, but he eventually helped the Wolverines land their only Orange Bowl victory in 2000.
𒁃 Soon after, he joined the New England Patriots as a sixth-round pick and 199th overall, marking the beginning of arguably the greatest QB performance of any generation. As the primary starter for 18 seasons, Brady led the Patriots to win six Vince Lombardi trophies out of nine appearances at the Super Bowl, 13 AFC Championships, and 11 Division titles.
Not to forget, he was voted MVP four times and played at the Pro Bowl for a record 15 times. And after securing his seventh Super Bowl ring with the Buccaneers in 2020 and setting many other records, Brady is, so far, the most accomplished Wolverine in NFL history.
🌜 Further, two of three Michigan Heisman Trophy winners managed to attain a Super Bowl ring. Not only did Desmond Howard help the Green Bay Packers win Super Bowl XXXI against the Patriots, but he was also crowned MVP in 1997.
🌟 More recently, Charles Woodson was the last Heisman Trophy winner to win the big game. While he was the defensive player of the year in the 2009 Super Bowl, he actively helped Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers secure the Vince Lombardi trophy in 2011.
ThePuntersPage Final Say
♈ Although the Detroit Lions are yet to clinch the Vince Lombardi Trophy or appear on football's biggest stage, Michigan has not yet failed to be part of Super Bowl history. And who knows, maybe it's finally the Lion's time to shine this coming season.
ꦗ The best part is that Michiganders can easily bet on the Super Bowl, thanks to the rife markets and the reputable sportsbooks that make them available. While the 2024 NFL season is yet to begin officially, there's still more than enough NFL action to get involved in now!
FAQ
🐭A total of 11 players in Super Bowl XLVIII were from the Mitten State. Seven played on the 49ers, while four were on the Kansas City Chiefs roster. As a matter of fact, the Wolverines have contributed a whopping 130 players to the Super Bowl, the most of any college.
🔴Yes. Michigan has hosted the larger-than-life NFL title game twice. The first was Super Bowl XVI in 1982 — the highest-rated Super Bowl game in history, which was held in Pontiac's now-demolished Pontiac Silverdome. Super Bowl XL was also hosted in Detroit's Fort Field in 2006.
ꦗAmong the most popular MI players to hoist the Vince Lombardi Trophy include Tom Brady with seven rings, Mario Manningham with one ring, Alan Branch with two rings, and Jim Harbaugh with one ring with the Baltimore Ravens at Super Bowl XLVII.
ℱWith two back-to-back Super Bowl rings and his pivotal performance in Super Bowl LVIII, Mike Danna definitely ranks among the top MI players in Super Bowl this year.