Seahawks News: How Sam Darnold Used Jerry Rice’s Words to Win His First Super Bowl

By the time Sam Darnold had made his way to the San Francisco 49ers in 2023, many believed, and even declared the third-overall pick from the 2018 Draft as a bust. His first six seasons in the league had amounted to nothing more than a 21-35 record and a 9:8 touchdown-to-interception ratio.

Darnold’s only truly memorable moment in that period was his now-famous “seeing ghosts” quote. He has managed to turn it all around in two seasons and will now be exclusively referred to as the reigning Super Bowl champion for the next calendar year.

That fact may be impossible for some fans to ever accept. But according to Darnold, it was only ever a matter of time. What also helped was a deeper understanding of the idea of attaining perfection he attributed to Jerry Rice.

Sam Darnold's Redemption

The supposed bust who never stopped believing in himself is now forever a champion 🏆
#NFLFilmsPresents | @Seahawks pic.twitter.com/MPeV8NQUo2

— NFL Films (@NFLFilms) February 13, 2026

“Jerry Rice had a quote that he never had a perfect practice or a perfect game,” Darnold stated in a recent interview. “After my first few years in the NFL, it was like, it’s not always gonna be perfect, and it’s about how you can move on from mistakes to continue to better the team and better yourself.”

Darnold’s 202 passing yards and one touchdown, accompanied by a 50% completion percentage and a 74.7 passer rating, may not go down as one of the best quarterback performances in Super Bowl history. But the fact that he was able to nullify his past turnover issues when things mattered most does stand as a testament to his discipline.

After all, this is still the same player who managed to record the third most interceptions (14) of any signal caller in the league this past season. And now that he’s finally proven himself capable of delivering under the brightest of lights, Darnold figures to be in line for a substantial pay increase.

Darnold’s initial contract with the Seattle Seahawks, which he signed in March of 2025, granted him an average salary of $33.5 million for the next three years. While that certainly turned out to be a massive value win for Seattle, it also makes Darnold, who is again, the offensive conductor of the reigning champions, just the 18th highest-paid quarterback in the NFL.

Ironically enough, that contract allows the team’s former quarterback and current Las Vegas Raider, Geno Smith, who actually did manage to lead the league in interceptions (17) this past season, to still be paid higher than Darnold. Of course, the Seahawks will likely do their best to rectify that issue at some point during this offseason.

However, fans shouldn’t be surprised if it doesn’t happen right away. The Seahawks also have to find a way to retain the actual MVP of this year’s Super Bowl, Kenneth Walker III.