Just A Bulldog Minute: How Former Mississippi State Players Performed In The Super Bowl LVIII
The biggest NFL game of the season resulted in The Chiefs 25-22 victory in overtime, and two former Mississippi State football players worked hard on the field to help Kansas City achieve this victory.
Linebackers Willie Gay Jr. and defensive tackle Chris Jones both saw the field on Sunday. Jones made his first appearance in Las Vegas before kickoff as the national anthem performance by singer Reba McEntire brought him to tears.
While on the field, Jones combined for four tackles and collected two assists. This adds to his personal Super Bowl career totaling five solo tackles and four assists between all three of his Super Bowl games.
Along with Jones, Willie Gay Jr. had an impressive tackle on San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy during the second half. After an unsure ruling for whether he would play, the Chiefs announced a week in advance that Gay would be playing in this important game.
Both Jones and Gay are set to be future free agents in 2024, so their consecutive Super Bowl appearances may have been their last playing for Kansas City.
After the Chiefs selected Gay during the second round of the 2020 NFL draft, the team signed him to a four-year, $5.27 million contract. However, since his contract is about to end, it is very likely that his time with the Chiefs is almost up. This future free agent may be wearing different colors next season.
On the other hand, Jones has a few routes he could go after his extension is up. Last year, Jones signed a $19.5 million deal with $18.4 million guaranteed. If the Chiefs tag Jones next year, his contract will be looking to be closer to $32.2 million, making him the second highest player among defenders.
The reality for this is that the Chiefs could take him through his age-33 season and give him close to $140 million, but this expensive defender may have had to show more success to be worth that much in salary cap.