SI

Maxx Crosby Jokes He's 'Mad' at Lions for Being Super Bowl Contenders Now

The Raiders star grew up a Lions fan during some woeful years for the franchise.

Tom Dierberger

Crosby just wrapped up his sixth season in the NFL.
Crosby just wrapped up his sixth season in the NFL. / NFL Network
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Long before Maxx Crosby developed into an NFL superstar with the Las Vegas Raiders, he grew up rooting for the Detroit Lions.

Crosby, who was born in 1997 in Michigan, was a diehard fan during some of the franchise's roughest years. During his peak years as a fan, Crosby never saw them win the NFC North or a single playoff game. From 2000 to '10, he never witnessed the Lions win more than seven games in a season. Crosby was 11 years old when Detroit went 0–16 in 2008.

Things look much different these days in Detroit under head coach Dan Campbell, who has the Lions one win away from back-to-back NFC championship game appearances for the first time in franchise history (in the Super Bowl era).

"It kind of bothers me because I had to wait my whole childhood for them to be good. And now that I'm in the league, they're Super Bowl contenders," Crosby said with a smile on Friday's episode of Good Morning Football. "Selfishly, I'm kind of mad at them."

Crosby then shared his admiration for Campbell and the Lions.

"In all realness, seeing what Dan Campbell has built, hearing what those guys say about him ... everybody says the same thing. They're like, 'I hope one day you just get to be able to be in that locker room with Coach Campbell.' They said he'll literally die for his players. He lives by that. The things you see in the locker room postgame, the interviews and everything, that's who he is.

"It's incredible to see. For the city of Detroit—my mom was born and raised in Detroit, my aunts and uncles, I grew up in Michigan right down the street—it's incredible to see for the city. It's been some long years, and the Lions haven't won for a long time."

Crosby's Raiders currently are in a similar spot as the Lions teams he grew up rooting for. Over six NFL seasons, Crosby has only reached the playoffs once—a trip that ended with a 26–19 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in the wild-card round. He has played for four different coaches in those six years, and there will be a fifth in 2025 as Las Vegas looks to hire a new head coach after firing Antonio Pierce on Jan. 7.

Crosby has long stated his desire to win in Las Vegas. But perhaps there is a Detroit homecoming in his future.

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Tom Dierberger
TOM DIERBERGER

Tom Dierberger is a staff writer and editor on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in November 2023 after stints at FOX Sports, Bally Sports and NBC Sports. Dierberger has a bachelor's in communication from St. John's University. In his spare time, he can be seen throwing out his arm while playing fetch with his dog, Walter B. Boy.

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