Black excellence will be on full display for Black History Month at Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas. From the on-field play to the in-game entertainment, here are the 10 Black names you need to know for this year’s Super Bowl.
Usher
The R&B icon has waited his entire moment for his own headlining Super Bowl halftime show, and now it has arrived.
The legacy artist, who is still releasing hit singles like 2023’s “Good Good,” which features 21 Savage and Summer Walker, will be performing four decades of hit records in Vegas. A city he’s become synonymous with after his 100-show residency.
Andra Day
Day is set to sing the Black National Anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” at the big game. Although some critics took issue with the song being performed at the Super Bowl, the “Rise Up” artist is ready to take center stage in a moment of pride for Black Americans.
Javon Hargrave
A product of coach Buddy Pough and South Carolina State, Hargrave is the only HBCU player representation in this year’s championship game.
Patrick Mahomes II
Before the age of 30, the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback placed himself in prime position to become the undisputed greatest quarterback of all time. The title may come as a bit of a surprise to some football fans, given the current undisputed greatest quarterback ever is Tom Brady, who just retired a season ago, but Mahomes’ resume can not be denied. He has led the Chiefs to four Super Bowls in the past five years and is going for his third title this Sunday.
This season may be the most impressive for Mahomes out of all of his trips because the Chiefs faced a great deal of turmoil in the regular season to the point where it was even questionable if the team would make the playoffs. After two tough wins on the road over Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills and Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens, they’re back. And it’s thanks, in large part, to the son of former Major League Baseball veteran Patrick Mahomes Sr. holding the team together through its growing pains.
Deebo Samuel
Samuel has been known as one of the best receivers in the NFL for years now, and this is the 49ers’ star wideout’s next chance to add a Super Bowl to his budding Hall of Fame credentials.
Isiah Pacheco
This Chiefs running back sprints hard, and his performances are a major reason why the team is in this year’s title matchup. Despite a fourth-quarter fumble in Buffalo, Pacheco will be as key as anyone else for a Kansas City victory.
Chase Young
The NFL veteran has been recognized as one of the best defensive linemen in the league since the Washington Commanders drafted him.
Now, he is one-half of the 49ers’ lethal attack alongside Nick Bosa.
Chris Jones
Jones is known as the Chiefs’ best defensive player. Playing on a one-year, $19.5 million contract, the product of small-town Houston, Mississippi, is living one of the NFL’s most feel-good American dream stories.
Brandon Aiyuk
Despite having a tough postseason and not breaking 70 receiving yards in a playoff game, the 49ers wideout still snagged 75 passes for 1,342 yards and seven touchdowns in the regular season.
Fred Warner
The San Francisco linebacker ended the regular season 18th in the league with 82 solo tackles, tied for fifth in the league with four forced fumbles, and tied for seventh in the NFL with four interceptions.
