New Orleans – Brandon Graham lives the John Elway and Michael Strahan fantasy.
Aside from the change in Hart, Graham played the final game of his 15-year NFL career on Sunday, heading out as Super Bowl 2025 champion in a 40-22 victory over the Eagles Chiefs.
Unlike Elway and Strahan, who were named to the Hall of Fame after the Broncos and Giants, respectively, Graham, who won the Super Bowls in his final season, is not the greatest NFL player of all time.
However, he is considered a Philadelphia franchise icon and played in 218 regular seasons and playoff games.
The last of them was Sunday. This was made possible on November 24th when he fought from his torn triceps and defeated all the timeline for recovery to win another special moment.
Graham fell to his lap in a field of confetti and hugged his two children.
His daughter cried out, “We won the Super Bowl!” As she jumped up and down waiting for a hug.
“In the long run, one of our goals was to make Brandon the Super Bowl,” Jordan Myrata said before slipping into the impersonation of his best Graham voice. “[He was saying]”One more chance.”
Mailata then became more emotional and his voice cracked slightly.
“We believed in him,” Mailata said. “The ultimate goal was to get it done, but if this was his last year, it was to get it for Brandon. It's special for him to go out as a champion. That's what we're saying I remember. I realized that it was my last game with BG.”
Graham and Eagles general manager Howie Roseman held him so tightly in the Eagles locker room that it was unclear who would lift who off the ground.
Graham and Saquon Barkley sprayed champagne, while Graham posed for selfie with cigar-banned quarterback Jalen Hart.
Graham finished with just one tackle, but his impact was about the emotional spark he provided to his teammates in the fight to recover.
He was part of the coin toss.
His Super Bowl legacy was solidified long ago when Tom Brady's strip sack helped the Eagles win the Eagles' first title in the 2018 Super Bowl.
The game's MVP, Nick Forres, had Graham in his heart when he saw Super Bowl 2025 from afar.
“Congratulations to Brandon Graham for his lead in the Super Bowl victory,” Forres wrote on social media. “One of my favourite teammates.”
