Former Army Black Knights Football Star Wins First Super Bowl Ring

The Army West Point Black Knights had two former football stars in Super Bowl LIX and one emerged with his first Super Bowl ring.

Aug 15, 2024; Foxborough, MA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles offensive tackle Brett Toth (64) during the second half against the New England Patriotsat Gillette Stadium. / Eric Canha-Imagn Images

Super Bowl LIX pitted the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs against one another, and both teams feature former Army West Point Black Knights football stars.

But only one could walk away with a Super Bowl title.

It turned out to be former Black Knights star offensive lineman Brett Toth, as the Eagles defeated the Chiefs, 40-22, on Sunday night at Caesars Superdome.

It was a measure of justice for Toth. Two years ago, when the Eagles made the Super Bowl, he was unable to play in the game. This time, the 27-year-old was on the sideline, though he played little.

He was seen on the sideline at one point in the first half working with starting offensive lineman Mekhi Becton, who was trying to work through an injury so he could return to the game.

This is his first Super Bowl championship. On the other side, linebacker Cole Christiansen felt the sting of defeat for the first time. He was part of the Chiefs’ last two Super Bowl championships.

Toth was part of Army teams that were second in total offense in 2016 and first in total offense in 2017. In that 2017 season, Toth and the Black Knights ran the ball 785 times to lead the country.

He was good enough to earn an invitation to the 2018 Senior Bowl, but he wasn’t drafted because NFL teams knew he had a five-year service commitment ahead of him. He did serve as a football graduate assistant in 2018 before he began his deployment.

In 2019, the military announced a new policy that allowed service academy graduates with potential pro athletics aspirations to defer their service. Already at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri, he applied for the deferment, and it was granted.

He quickly joined the Eagles later that season but was cut before the regular season. He landed with Arizona and remained there, though he landed on the reserve/non-football illness list. He was cut by the Cardinals in 2020.

He landed with the Eagles shortly thereafter. Aside from a stint with the Carolina Panthers during 2023, he has been in Philadelphia ever since.

The loss denied Christiansen was denied a bit of history. He’s one of a handful of service academy football players with a Super Bowl ring. Had the Chiefs won, he could have joined Air Force defensive end Chad Hennings, who won three Super Bowl rings with the Dallas Cowboys in the 1990s.

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