SALT LAKE CITY — A 50-year Super Bowl championship drought was wiped out in February when the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LIV.
Before the Chiefs open up the NFL season in a little over a week against the Houston Texans on Sept. 10, there was some business to take care of.
Kansas City held its ring ceremony Tuesday night, celebrating its Super Bowl victory with some jewelry.
Former Cougars Andy Reid (played at BYU 1978-80 and coached at the Y. in 1981) and Daniel Sorensen (BYU 2008, 2011-13) and former Utes Jackson Barton (Utah 2015-2018) and Alex Whittingham (Utah 2014-2017) all were fitted with a Super Bowl champion ring at Arrowhead Stadium. So, too, were former Aggie Darwin Thompson (Utah State 2018) and former Lancer Marcus Kemp (a Layton High graduate).
Reid, beloved around the NFL, finally broke through and got his Super Bowl championship after 21 years as a head coach, first in Philadelphia for 14 years before heading to Kansas City in 2013. Reid was just extended through 2025, according to ESPN.
Big Red joked about the free meals wearing his ring could bring him in Kansas City.
“You wear it for special occasions, or if you want a free cheeseburger, you point it right there, show ’em that ring and you might get one,” Reid said.
Sorensen finished the 2019 season with 57 tackles and two interceptions.
He had a huge momentum-changing play in the Chiefs’ comeback win over the Houston Texans in the divisional round. Sorensen stopped Houston, up 24-7, on a fake punt in the second quarter. The Chiefs scored on the ensuing drive and the comeback was on.
Barton was a standout at offensive line at Utah and was drafted in the seventh round by the Colts in 2019. The former Brighton High standout was signed by Kansas City in November of that year. Barton didn’t appear in a regular season game for the Chiefs.
Whittingham, who was a special teams player at Utah, is a defensive quality control coach for the Chiefs.
Thompson had 37 carries for 128 yards and a touchdown last season as a rookie for the Chiefs. He was a sixth-round pick by Kansas City in the 2019 draft and played on special teams and as a backup running back.
Kemp, who played collegiately at Hawaii, completed his third year in Kansas City last season, though he spent the regular season on injured reserve. The receiver and special teams ace recently re-signed with the team after becoming a free agent this offseason.