On Sunday, the ranks of American football players of Nigerian descent with a Super Bowl championship grew by five after the Seattle Seahawks defeated the New England Patriots 29-13 in this year’s National Football League finale to clinch the highly coveted Lombardi Trophy.

The quintet of Jalen Oluwaseun Milroe, Nick Emmanwori, Uchenna Nwosu, Boye Mafe and Olu Oluwatimi all played their part this season as the Seahawks won their second-ever Super Bowl title, joining the growing list of Nigerian heritage stars with championship rings.

Nick Emmanwori

Emmanwori is a 22-year-old safety drafted 35th overall in the 2025 NFL Draft and played an essential role for the Seahawks this season, making 81 tackles, 11 pass deflections and 2.5 sacks to become a Super Bowl champion in his rookie season.

He was born in North Carolina to Nigerian parents, and he is the youngest of five siblings. Emmanwori attended Irmo High School before heading to the University of South Carolina to play football, where he was drafted into the NFL by the Seahawks.

Emmanwori’s mother, Justina, became a viral sensation days before the Super Bowl when she told ABC in an interview that she had no idea how big the event was. She noted that she was only travelling to attend the finale to shout “Ah, Super Bowl, touchdown, we win” in support of her son.

The video generated millions of reactions across the media, with many, mostly Americans, jokingly tagging her reaction “typically African mom behaviour” that she would have been more pleased if her son had become a doctor.

Uchenna Nwosu

The 29-year-old is another Nigerian-born Super Bowl-winning player. Nwosu was born in the United States to Nigerian parents and attended Narbonne High School.

In 2014, he committed to the University of Southern California to play collegiate football through 2017, where he was drafted by the Los Angeles Chargers as a linebacker the following year.

He played with the Chargers for three years before being traded to the Seahawks in 2022, and almost four years later, he has won the Lombardi Trophy with the Seattle-based franchise, scoring a touchdown in the final.

He became the first player with a direct African heritage to score in a Super Bowl.

Boye Mafe

Mafe, 27, is a linebacker drafted 40th overall out of the University of Minnesota by the Seahawks in 2022. He was born in the United States to Nigerian parents.

He played 17 games, including in the Super Bowl, this season, making 28 total tackles and two sacks to power the Seahawks to the championship in his fourth season with the franchise.

Olu Oluwatimi

Oluwatimi is a 26-year-old centre born in Maryland into a family of Nigerian descent. He attended DeMatha Catholic High School before committing to the Air Force Falcons Football in 2017.

One year later, he transferred to the University of Virginia, where he played until 2021, before moving to the University of Michigan in 2022, when he was selected 154th overall by the Seahawks in the NFL draft that year.

Jalen Oluwaseun Milroe

The Quarterback is another Nigerian-born champion in his rookie season. Milroe was born on December 13, 2002, in Texas, to a family of Nigerian descent.

He attended Obra D. Tompkins High School before committing to the University of Alabama in 2021, where he played collegiate football until he was drafted 92nd overall by the Seahawks in the 2025 draft.

They joined other notable previous Super Bowl winners of Nigerian descent, including Nelson Agholor, Ufomba Kamalu, Osi Umenyiora, Morotoluwa ‘Moro’ Ojomo, Jay Ajayi, three-time champion Derrick Nnadi and Troy Pelshak.