Considered a top NFL prospect when he debuted in 2018, quarterback Sam Darnold failed to live up to expectations in subsequent seasons in the four different franchises he played for. His trade last year to the Seattle Seahawks changed everything. The 28-year-old, against all odds, was able to lead his team to the Super Bowl where they will face the New England Patriots on Sunday.

Published on: 02/08/2026 - 07:03

In 2023, Sam Darnold played in the shadow of the American football championship (NFL). A replacement quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, he had only started once during the season. “I was somewhere over there, standing, hoping to be spoken to,” he said, Monday, February 6, in the press room. “And now here I am.”

Three years later, he returned to his old stadium in San Francisco, but this time in full light. After experiencing more downs than ups during his career, the player is preparing to play his first Super Bowl on Sunday February 8 with the Seattle Seahawks against the New England Patriots. His story has become a true symbol of perseverance in the United States.

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A third draft pick

However, it all started in good hospices. After a brilliant university career with the USJ Trojans team in California, this athlete (1.91 m and 102 kilos) was selected as the third choice in the first round of the 2018 Draft by the New York Jets franchise.

The young man is then considered one of the future stars of the NFL. Established from his first season, his beginnings were particularly difficult. He then displays a record of four victories for nine defeats. The following season proved to be just as disappointing. He even became the laughing stock of the country when a sound clip broadcast by the media showed him declaring "that he saw ghosts" during a crushing defeat against the New England Patriots (33-0).

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After the 2020 season, the Jets eventually traded him to the Carolina Panthers. Sam Darnold is not doing any better and continues to alternate between the bench and the field. In 2023, he signed a backup contract with the 49ers for $4.5 million for the season. “He was at a crossroads in his career,” recalls Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, who held the same position in San Francisco at the time. "He started as Brock Purdy's backup. He wasn't looking to take his place. He was supporting our quarterback in his progress. Then, when his time came, he was ready."

Relegated to the rank of understudy, the quarterback is champing at the bit but learning as much as possible, especially alongside head coach Kyle Shanahan. “I felt like he was talking about football in a way that I had never heard before, which was really special to me,” says Sam Darnold.

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Revealed among the Vikings

His patience finally paid off. After signing a new contract in 2024 with the Minnesota Vikings, he finally reveals himself. He then won 14 games as a starter, establishing a personal record of 35 touchdowns, before collapsing in the playoffs.

After a finally convincing season, he was recruited by the Seattle Seahawks. On his momentum, he shines again with 14 victories, joining the legend Tom Brady as the only quarterbacks to have achieved two consecutive seasons of at least 14 victories. During the NFC conference final against the Los Angeles Rams on January 26, he played the game of his life and led his team to victory (31-27) to clinch the ticket to the Super Bowl.

“We were very lucky to have him,” emphasizes Klint Kubiak. "When he came to us, he was a much more mature player. He had gone through some tough times and he used that to become a better player. So we brought him in at the perfect time in his career, when he had an incredible hunger to win. He used all his experience and helped lead our attack."

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The NFL has long been an unforgiving environment for young quarterbacks, who can go from future superstar to failure overnight. “This is perhaps an aspect that is often underestimated: how quickly the NFL can crush a quarterback who does not meet the expectations placed on him at the start of his career,” describes Cooper Kupp, one of his teammates with the Seahawks. "For Sam to be able to do what he did, to go through the challenges he went through in the beginning and come back to the top... It's impressive. Really impressive."

Sam Darnold is well aware of having an atypical background. Less than three years after coming close to the end of his career, he has the opportunity on Sunday to put his name on the Super Bowl list. “I always believed in myself,” he sums up simply. "I knew I could play at a high level, and that's it. That's what motivated me and I knew that an opportunity would eventually present itself. But even if it didn't, I knew that I had done everything to improve year after year."

For the Seattle Seahawks, this will be a fourth appearance in the NFL final, after the defeat in 2006, the coronation of 2014 and a new setback in 2015 against the same New England Patriots. Sam Darnold and his teammates have revenge to take.

With Associated Press and AFP

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