The USC Trojans have left a very large imprint on the Super Bowl. JuJu Smith-Schuster was a pivotal player in the Kansas City Chiefs’ victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LVII one year ago. Ronald Jones of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers won a Lombardi Trophy in Super Bowl LV, the other Super Bowl trophy won by a Trojan this decade. All in all, USC players have played in 49 of 57 Super Bowls. That’s a very high percentage of times in which the Men of Troy have rostered at least one player for the NFL’s ultimate showcase.
As the Super Bowl moves closer to 60 games, the histories and retrospectives we remember from earlier decades seem smaller by comparison. I can remember my mom buying me the Official Encyclopedia of Pro Football, a thick, tall, black book with massive photo spreads… of the first 16 Super Bowls. Super Bowl history wasn’t very lengthy when I was a kid.
Now, though, we have 57 games in the books, with a 58th game to come on Feb. 11 in Las Vegas.
USC is a top-three program in all-time Super Bowl appearances among players. This refers to total appearances by players, as opposed to the number of players who have made an appearance. (In other words, this counts repeat/return appearances by individual players. Lynn Swann, Ronnie Lott, Ron Yary, Anthony Munoz, and many other Trojans returned to the Super Bowl after making their first trip.)
After Super Bowl LIII between the Los Angeles Rams and New England Patriots in 2019, the USC sports information department put the number of total Trojan Super Bowl appearances at 114. Ronald Jones put that number at 115 in Super Bowl LV, but other outlets put that number higher. A 2014 review put USC’s appearance total at 111, just to provide some context on this point. Given the number of USC appearances since Super Bowl XLVIII (Seahawks-Broncos) in February of 2014, when that review was published, USC’s total went to 121 with Ronald Jones’ appearance. JuJu Smith-Schuster and Ronald Jones were both rostered and active for Super Bowl LVII with the Chiefs. Robert Woods won a Super Bowl ring with the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LVI, but he was injured and not active for the game. You get the idea: There might be disputes about who officially counts as a rostered player.
Former USC quarterback Rob Hertel has an NFL player page, but he is not on the Pro Football Reference page for the 1980 NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles, who played in Super Bowl XV versus the Oakland Raiders in January of 1981. That explains the discrepancy between some final tallies and others.
It’s worth knowing that, just so we’re clear.
Now, enjoy this gallery of the 49 Super Bowls in which at least one USC football player was on a team roster.