NFL icon Bo Jackson's emotional note to Damar Hamlin is his back tattoo's hidden gem

The Buffalo Bills safety is forever an inspiration after he almost died on the field. Bo Jackson's words are immortalized on his viral back tattoo.

Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin accommodates a group and takes a selfie with them with their phone. Players signed autographs for fans and hung out with their family after the Return of the Blue & Red practice at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park on Aug.1, 2025. | Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Damar Hamlin forever changed lives when he almost lost his own.

Every NFL fan who was watching can remember where they were when on January 2, 2023, the Buffalo Bills safety collapsed on the field in front of a national audience on Monday Night Football at the Cincinnati Bengals and nearly died.

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Jun 11, 2025; Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin works out during minicamp at Highmark Stadium. | Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

In fact, the 27 year old later revealed that it was the rarest of possibilities that he was hit in a specific 40-millisecond span that is 97% fatal if not treated in the first three minutes. Luckily, first responders and eventually the medical staff at the University of Cincinnati Academic Health Center saved his life, and he's been eternally grateful ever since.

To commemorate that life-defining moment, Hamlin got a massive collage back tattoo with all of the indelible moments from that night and the outpouring of support afterwards.

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Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills react as safety Damar Hamlin is tended to on the field after a collision in the first quarter of a Week 17 NFL game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Monday, Jan. 2, 2023, at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati. | Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK

One part of the tattoo that was hard to decipher when it first starting going viral is a note from NFL and Los Angeles Raiders, now of course the Las Vegas Raiders, icon Bo Jackson.

"Did we win?," the famous words that Hamlin spoke when he first woke up is front and center on the tattoo, but below it on the left side of his back are the emotional words from the Heisman Trophy winner, NFL Pro Bowler, and MLB All-Star.

"The question you asked, 'Did we win?'," Jackson wrote. "The answer to that is yes, we did win. The very second you opened your eyes, the nation celebrated and cheered. So to answer your question, hell yeah we won young man!!"

It still gives you goosebumps reading it over two years later.

Dear @HamlinIsland, 
The question you asked, “Did we win?" The answer to that is yes, we did win. The very second you opened your eyes, the nation celebrated and cheered. So to answer your question, hell yeah we won young man!!

— Bo Jackson (@BoJackson) January 6, 2023

Hamlin continues to be an inspiration, and the Bills along with reigning NFL MVP Josh Allen are becoming the team that NFL fans root for to finally win a Super Bowl besides their own squad.

But as Jackson so eloquently put it, Hamlin has already won no matter what.

Feb 6, 2025; Damar Hamlin on the red carpet before Super Bowl LIX NFL Honors at Saenger Theatre. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

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