For 60 years, the Super Bowl has excited fans around the globe, and that was no different this past weekend.
Two unlikely teams made it to the big game this season, with the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks battling for the coveted Lombardi Trophy.
Last year's Super Bowl gave Iowa fans a moment they will never forget after former Hawkeye and rookie defensive back Cooper DeJean picked off superstar Patrick Mahomes and took it back for a touchdown.
That moment launched DeJean into NFL stardom, and even though he did not make it back to the big game this season, he finished as an NFL First-Team All-Pro Selection.
This season, another Hawkeye became an unlikely Super Bowl champion.
Former Iowa OL Mason Richman is a Super Bowl Champion
The Seahawks entered last season as heavy underdogs to win Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara, California, but overcame those long odds to become champions.
Heading into the 2025-2026 season, the Seahawks had 60-1 odds to win Super Bowl LX, becoming one of the largest preseason underdogs to win the Lombardi.
In even bigger odds, former Hawkeye offensive lineman Mason Richman went from seventh-round pick to Super Bowl Champion.
Former Iowa offensive lineman Mason Richman has won a Super Bowl LX ring with the Seattle Seahawks. This is the second year in a row a Hawkeye rookie has won a Super Bowl after Cooper DeJean did so in 2025: https://t.co/VrdiYcsTOs pic.twitter.com/gCyOLUQbVJ
— Tyler Tachman (@Tyler_T15) February 9, 2026
From seventh-round pick to Super Bowl champion is one heck of a way to start your professional career!
Most seventh-round picks do not make an NFL roster, let alone suit up for the Super Bowl, so Richman overcame long odds of his own to do the near-impossible.
Before the Seahawks selected him with the No. 234 overall pick in the seventh round of the 2025 NFL Draft, Richman was a staple of the Iowa offensive line.
Richamn started 52 career games on the offensive line for the Hawkeyes, including making 43 consecutive starts.
He helped anchor an offensive line unit that finished as semifinalists for the Joe Moore Award in 2024, and can now call himself a Super Bowl champion.