THOMAS BOOKER IV ’22 became the 23rd Stanford alum to play in a Super Bowl and come home with the Vince Lombardi Trophy as an NFL champion.
Booker and Tanner McKee '24 were members of the Philadelphia Eagles team that routed the Kansas City Chiefs, 40-22, in Super Bowl LIX on Sunday at the Superdome in New Orleans. Booker, a defensive tackle, became the 44th former Cardinal to play in a Super Bowl. McKee, the Eagles’ No. 3 quarterback, was inactive.
Chiefs’ starting strong safety Justin Reid ’19 became the second from Stanford to play in three consecutive Super Bowls, joining Hall of Fame receiver James Lofton, who started for the Buffalo Bills in all three, in the early 1990s.
Reid had seven tackles, including five solo. In three Super Bowls, Reid had made 24 tackles, including 14 solo. Among his solo stops on Sunday were stopping Saquon Barkley no gain in the fourth quarter and a 1-yard gain in the third quarter. He also limited quarterback Jalen Hurts to a 2-yard gain in the second quarter.
Reid played all 74 of the Chiefs’ defensive downs and was in on eight special teams plays.
Booker played seven defensive downs for the Eagles, without a tackle. He became the 27th different alum to have played in and won a National Football League championship game, including the pre-Super Bowl era.
The Eagles have two coaches with Stanford ties. Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio was Stanford's defensive coordinator in 2010 when the Cardinal went 12-1 and won the Orange Bowl. Wide receivers coach Aaron Moorehead was an offensive assistant to the wide receivers coach at Stanford from 2010-12, helping the Cardinal to an Orange Bowl and two Rose Bowls.You can't take this away from @TheThomasBooker 🥹#SBLIX on FOX pic.twitter.com/X85Ni1SOBl
— Stanford Football (@StanfordFball) February 10, 2025
Fangio, a 41-year coaching veteran with 33 seasons of NFL experience, had never won a Super Bowl.
Fangio’s defense held the Chiefs to 275 net yards and 49 on the ground. The Eagles allowed the second-fewest points in the regular season and had six sacks and three takeaways in the Super Bowl, including cornerback Cooper DeJean’s pick-six in the second quarter. They did that without Fangio calling a single blitz against Patrick Mahomes, who was 8-0 against Fangio in their first eight meetings.
This marked the fifth consecutive Super Bowl with Stanford player representation. Forty-four different alums have played in 40 different Super Bowls.
Fifty-three alums have played in league title games, including the Super Bowl and in the pre-Super Bowl championship games of the NFL and American Football League, and All-America Football Conference.