The Hawkeyes have a long history of former players finding great success in the NFL, and some of them have reached football immortality.
Some people don't like to hear this, but Iowa football is an NFL factory.
The Hawkeyes have 28 players on NFL rosters - the third most of any Big Ten team and the 11th-highest in the nation. Iowa ranks ahead of notable programs Auburn, USC, Clemson, and Texas A&M, a sign of the consistent program head coach Kirk Ferentz continues to run in Iowa City.
While some of the former Hawks in the league were/are reserves and practice squad players, Iowa is no stranger to seeing some of its alums finding success in the NFL.
To celebrate Super Bowl Sunday, HawkeyeRoundtable is going back down memory lane and selecting some of the greatest Hawkeyes to reach the top of the football mountain.
The players that are listed here obviously had illustrious careers in Iowa City, but they're here specifically because they made key contributions for their Super Bowl-winning teams.
Without further adieu, here are some of the best Iowa football alums to capture a Super Bowl championship:
Bob Sanders & Dallas Clark: Indianapolis Colts (Super Bowl XLI)
Sanders and Clark were both key members of Iowa's 2002 Big Ten co-championship team, and they brought their collegiate success to Peyton Manning's Indianapolis Colts.
After suffering a historic upset at the hands of the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2005 playoffs, the Colts bounced back with another AFC South title in 2006. Sanders, a safety, played in just four games during the regular season due to a knee injury, but returned healthy for the postseason.
In a cruel coincidence, Clark, a tight end, also went down with a knee injury late in November. He missed four of the last five games of the regular season, but like his old college teammate Sanders, he too was healthy for the playoffs.
The Colts finally got over the hump and reached Super Bowl XLI, where they would be pitted against Brian Urlacher and the vaunted Chicago Bears defense. Chicago held Clark to 36 yards on four catches, but Sanders' play proved to be the difference in the outcome.
Sanders forced two Bears' turnovers - a first quarter fumble by Cedric Benson and an interception off quarterback Rex Grossman in the fourth quarter. The pick was Grossman's second-straight possession with an interception, and the Colts won, 29-17 - their first and only title since moving to Indianapolis.
Cooper DeJean: Philadelphia Eagles (Super Bowl LIX)
You can't mention a former Hawkeye in the NFL without mentioning DeJean. He's only played two years in the league, but DeJean has already established himself as one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL - earning his first Pro Bowl nod in 2025.
DeJean didn't have to wait long to win his first ring. The 2024 Eagles breezed through the regular season and playoffs, and their final obstacle was the two-time defending champion Kansas City Chiefs.
Philadelphia overwhelmed Chiefs star quarterback Patrick Mahomes early and often, and DeJean joined the party with a pick-six near the end of the first half - his first career interception and touchdown - to secure the Eagles' second Super Bowl crown.
Marshal Yanda, Baltimore Ravens (Super Bowl XLVII)
Yanda, an eight-time Pro Bowler, could become the first former Hawkeye under Kirk Ferentz to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was annually regarded as one of the best offensive lineman in the NFL during his career, and Yanda helped the Ravens maintain their status as one of league's best teams under John Harbaugh.
Baltimore's greatest achievement in the Harbaugh era came with a dramatic 34-31 victory in Super Bowl XLVII against the San Francisco 49ers. Yanda's blocking helped quarterback Joe Flacco win Super Bowl MVP honors after throwing for 287 yards and three touchdowns.