In an all-time Super Bowl matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles Sunday night at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, AZ, the Kansas City Chiefs rallied to a 38-35 win for their second Super Bowl title in four years.
Among the players who hoisted the winning Lombardi trophy were former Wisconsin stars Leo Chenal and Melvin Gordon. The two alums became the 22nd and 23rd former University of Wisconsin players to win a Superbowl, marking the 37th time Badger alumni played in the Super Bowl.
While Chenal and Gordon took distinct paths to reach Super Bowl LVII, both players finished the season as Super Bowl champions for the first time in their careers.
Leo Chenal
Leo Chenal entered the 2021 NFL Draft as one of the top linebackers in the nation. In his three years as a Badger, Chenal made 180 tackles, 25.5 tackles for loss, 12 sacks, three forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and one interception.
Chenal came to UW as a three-star recruit and made an immediate impact as a freshman, recording 20 tackles and two tackles for loss in his rookie season. The inside linebacker continued to improve, starting all seven games as a sophomore and ranking second on the team with 46 tackles.
Chenal had a breakout season junior year, in which he ranked second in the nation with 1.7 tackles for loss per game, ranking seventh-best in the country with 10.5 tackles per game. Chenal finished his junior year with 115 total tackles, 18.5 tackles for loss and eight sacks, earning second-team All-American honors by the Associated Press.
Leo Chenal was selected in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft by the Kansas City Chiefs, and he earned a spot on the 52-man roster at the start of the regular season. As a rookie, Chenal played 17 games and started eight, recording 30 tackles and one sack during the regular season.
Leo Chenal continued his success during the postseason and earned a start in Super Bowl LVII. The 22-year-old recorded a season-high six tackles, including one tackle for loss and one sack to help his team clinch its second Super Bowl victory in four years.
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Melvin Gordon
Melvin Gordon’s journey to Super Bowl LVII was unexpected. The Heisman Trophy runner-up had one of the best seasons ever for a running back in 2014, totaling the second-most rushing yards in FBS history (2,587 yards from scrimmage), earning the Doak Walker Award and unanimous consensus First-team All-American honors. Gordon finished his illustrious collegiate career with 4,915 rushing yards, 49 touchdowns and an FBS record-setting 7.79 yards per carry.
Melvin Gordon’s successful college career earned him a first-round draft pick in 2015. He was selected as the 15th overall pick by the Los Angeles Chargers. The Badger alum spent five seasons in Los Angeles, averaging 848 yards per season.
Gordon signed a two-year, $16 million contract with the Denver Broncos in 2020, totaling over 900 yards in each of his first two seasons in Denver.
In 2022, Melvin Gordon signed a one-year contract with Denver but was waived by the Broncos ten games into the season. The 29-year-old finished the season with 90 carries for 318 rushing yards. The Badger alum signed to the Kansas City Chiefs’ practice squad on Nov. 29, 2022.
Although Melvin Gordon did not play for the Chiefs during the regular season or postseason, the Wisconsin native will receive a Super Bowl ring, his first during an eight-year career.
