The Seattle Seahawks are back in the Super Bowl for the first time since 2014. A big reason for the Seahawks’ success this season is the play of quarterback Sam Darnold. The former first-round pick from the 2018 NFL Draft has had quite the journey of a career.
His career started with the New York Jets, which lasted just three seasons before getting traded to the Carolina Panthers, where he spent the 2021-2022 seasons. He was a backup for the San Francisco 49ers in 2023, then led the Minnesota Vikings to a 14-3 season in 2024. But following an abysmal wild-card loss to the Los Angeles Rams, Darnold was shipped off to Seattle. in the wildcard round.
In Seattle, he can help secure a Super Bowl title for the first time in his career. He can also make history as the first-ever USC quarterback to win a Super Bowl.
MORE: How Seahawks built Super Bowl 60 roster
USC QBs to win a Super Bowl
Believe it or not, a USC quarterback has never won a Super Bowl before. Even Darnold himself didn’t know about that fact until recently.
“I didn’t realize that I was the first SC quarterback until I saw the news I think a week ago,” Darnold told reporters. “It’s just an honor. It’s an honor to be playing in this game, to be representing the university.”
“I’ve heard from a couple of them,” Darnold added. “It’s so crazy just because I grew up idolizing a lot of those guys that went to SC.”
In fact, Darnold will already make history as the first-ever former USC signal-caller to start in a Super Bowl on Sunday.
It’s a bit surprising, given that the Trojans have produced the most Heisman Trophy winners of any other school (8), as well as six No. 1 overall picks and another 86 first-round draft picks dating back to 1940. The school has even produced the most Super Bowl winners throughout its illustrious history:
Most Super Bowl Winners✅ pic.twitter.com/onE2TJv2TJ
— USC Football ✌️ (@uscfb) February 7, 2025
Still, no starting quarterbacks. There have been a few to get close in recent years. The Chicago Bears‘ Caleb Williams brought his team to the divisional round of the playoffs just this season, losing 20-17 to the Los Angeles Rams. Carson Palmer brought the Arizona Cardinals to the NFC Championship game in 2015, losing 49-15 to the Carolina Panthers. Coincidentally, that was the last time Santa Clara hosted the Super Bowl.
MORE: Inside Sam Darnold’s playoff record and stats
Notable USC QBs in NFL
Outside of Williams and Palmer, there are other prominent USC quarterbacks to play in the league. Mark Sanchez, who was drafted No. 5 overall by the New York Jets. At USC, he won three Rose Bowl games, including a 38-24 victory over Penn State in 2009, during which he won the game’s MVP.
Sanchez’s career started out promising. He became just the second quarterback in NFL history to lead his team to an AFC Championship during his first two seasons. But the Jets fell to the Colts 30-17 during his rookie season, and lost 24-19 to the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2010.
Sanchez’s career went downhill from there. He finished 14-17 over his last two seasons with New York, and finished out his career with the Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys and Washington as a backup.
Other notable former USC quarterbacks in the league include Matt Cassel, who was drafted in the seventh round of the 2005 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots and won a Super Bowl backing up Tom Brady during his rookie season. He spent 14 years in the NFL with the Patriots, Chiefs, Vikings and several other clubs, but had just a 36-45 overall record as a starter.
The 2004 Heisman winner Matt Leinart won two national championships at USC, and was drafted in the first round by the Arizona Cardinals. He played just 18 games over his six seasons in the NFL, and backed up Kurt Warner during the Cardinals 2009 Super Bowl appearance, losing 27-23 to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Older names like former six-round pick Rodney Peete led the Eagles to the second-round of the playoffs in 1995, losing 30-11 to the Cowboys in the divisional round. In 2002, former fourth-round draft pick Rob Johnson won a Super Bowl as a backup for Brad Johnson with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Seventh-round pick Kyle Wachholtz won the 1996 Super Bowl with the Packers, but as a tight end.
Seventh-round pick from the Los Angeles Rams, Pat Haden, was on the 1979 Los Angeles Rams squad that made the Super Bowl. Although he began the season as the starter, a broken finger sidelined him the rest of the year. Other names from the 1970s such as Rob Hertel and Mike Rae won Super Bowls as backup quarterbacks.
MORE: History of Seattle’s Super Bowl appearances
USC QBs draft to NFL
USC has produced several NFL quarterbacks, with several drafted in the first round. Here’s a look at every former USC quarterback drafted in the Super Bowl era:
| Player | Draft Round(Pick) | Draft Year | Team | Starting Record | Playoff Record |
| Caleb Williams | 1st (No. 1) | 2024 | Chicago Bears | 16-18 | 1-1 |
| Sam Darnold | 1st (No. 3 ) | 2018 | New York Jets | 49-41 | 2-1 |
| Cody Kessler | 3rd (No. 93) | 2016 | Cleveland Browns | 2-10 | — |
| Matt Barkley | 4th (No. 98) | 2013 | Philadelphia Eagles | 2-5 | — |
| Mark Sanchez | 1st (No. 5) | 2009 | New York Jets | 37-36 | 4-2 |
| John David Booty | 5th (No. 137) | 2008 | Minnesota Vikings | — | — |
| Matt Leinart | 1st (No. 10) | 2006 | Arizona Cardinals | 8-10 | — |
| Matt Cassel | 7th (No. 230) | 2005 | New England Patriots | 36-45 | 0-1 |
| Carson Palmer | 1st (No. 1) | 2003 | Cincinnati Bengals | 92-88-1 | 1-3 |
| Kyle Wachholtz | 7th (No. 240) | 1996 | Green Bay Packers | (Switched to TE) | — |
| Rob Johnson | 4th (No. 99) | 1995 | Jacksonville Jaguars | 12-17 | 0-1 |
| Pat O-Hara | 10th (No. 260) | 1991 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | — | — |
| Rodney Peete | 6th (No. 141) | 1989 | Detroit Lions | 45-42 | 1-1 |
| Paul McDonald | 4th (No. 109) | 1980 | Cleveland Browns | 8-13 | 0-1 |
| Rob Hertel | 5th (No. 131) | 1978 | Cincinatti Bengals | — | — |
| Vince Evans | 6th (No. 140) | 1977 | Chicago Bears | 14-25 | — |
| Mike Rae | 8th (No. 205) | 1973 | Oakland Raiders | ||
| Mike Holmgren | 8th (No. 201) | 1970 | St. Louis Rams | — | — |
