5 NFL legends who retired without winning the Super Bowl
Life in the NFL reaches a climax when you finally climb the mountain and win the Super Bowl. It is the zenith of a career in football, yet it isn’t something that every player can achieve.
Of course, you find players who are limited in ability and are never realistically going to be part of a team good enough to challenge for a championship. But there are situations where the complete opposite is true.
Many NFL legends have been unable to reach the promised land of a Super Bowl title for varying reasons. Their individual performances have often been of a spectacularly high level, but bad luck or poor teammates often go against them.
It’s remarkable how many legends have fallen short throughout NFL history, especially when you look at some lesser players who have gotten their hands on the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
#5 – Dan Marino (QB)
Dan Marino is one of the truly great quarterbacks to ever play in the NFL. He perhaps doesn’t get the recognition he deserves because he emerged and played alongside Joe Montana, but Miami Dolphins fans remember him as the guy who gave their franchise hope.
Marino spent 17 seasons with the Dolphins, throwing 420 touchdown passes for 61,361 yards, yet his record was mixed in the postseason. In those 17 seasons, he reached the postseason just 10 times, retiring with a record of 8-10.
Marino, though, came close to winning a championship in 1984, just his second season in the NFL.
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He steered the Dolphins to wins over the Seattle Seahawks and the Pittsburgh Steelers to set up a Super Bowl matchup with the feared San Francisco 49ers.
Marino fell short on the big stage, throwing two interceptions, while Montana showcased his best throws in the NFL’s showpiece matchup.
Marino would never again get as close to the Vince Lombardi Trophy as that, with the Dolphins failing to get back to the Super Bowl ever since.
#4 – Jim Kelly (QB)
Jim Kelly’s NFL career didn’t start until three years after the Buffalo Bills drafted him. For a person now considered to be Buffalo’s favorite son, Kelly showed an aversion to playing football for the Bills.
The Bills drafted Kelly with the 14th selection, yet he refused to play for the team and was able to sign for the Houston Gamblers of the USFL.
After two seasons in Houston, the USFL folded, and Kelly was suddenly an elite quarterback who was unemployed. The Bills still held his NFL registration rights, and thus, he finally made the journey to freezing Buffalo.
He was an instant hit in a no-huddle offense that saw the Bills turn into the best team in football. He would play quarterback for the Bills for 11 seasons, throwing 237 touchdown passes, but his career is remembered more vividly for a string of Super Bowl failures.
In perhaps the most heart-wrenching development on this list, Jim Kelly led the Bills to four successive Super Bowls. He lost all four and never got his hands on the trophy, a pain that still resonates throughout Buffalo.