No matter what happens in Super Bowl LIX on Sunday evening in New Orleans, a former Mississippi State player will earn a championship ring.

Defensive tackle Chris Jones has been the heartbeat of the Kansas City Chiefs’ defense during their current run of dominance over the NFL, and he stands to become a four-time Super Bowl champ if the Chiefs defeat the Philadelphia Eagles. Jones was named to his sixth straight Pro Bowl this season and was named first-team all-pro for the third consecutive year.

The 30-year-old Jones is from Houston, Mississippi, and signed with the Bulldogs as a five-star recruit, playing at MSU from 2013 to 2015. He had 8.5 career sacks and 18 tackles for loss in the maroon and white before the Chiefs took him in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft. Prior to the 2024 season, Jones signed a five-year, $158.75 million contract extension, making him the highest-paid defensive tackle in NFL history by average annual value.

Cornerback Darius Slay, 34, is wrapping up his 12th NFL season — he spent seven years with the Detroit Lions before a 2020 trade sent him to Philadelphia. He grew up in Brunswick, Georgia, and played two years at Itawamba Community College, then transferred to MSU prior to the 2011 season. As a senior in 2012, Slay led the Southeastern Conference with five interceptions, one of which he returned for a touchdown.

The Lions took Slay in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft, and by 2017 he led the NFL with eight interceptions and was a first-team all-pro honoree. The six-time Pro Bowler returned two fumbles for touchdowns in 2021 and had a key interception in the Eagles’ Wild Card win this year over the Green Bay Packers.

MSU has had 25 former players hoist the Vince Lombardi Trophy, with Jones the only three-time champion. Slay would become the 26th Bulldog to win the Super Bowl with an Eagles victory.