Getting the opportunity to play in a Super Bowl must be sweet. Losing in the big one, though, must have sucked, especially for these great NFL players whose resumes will never state: Super Bowl champion. That doesn’t take away from their Hall of Fame careers, but you know at this time of the year, and especially on Super Sunday, it’s still gotta sting that they don’t own a sparkly SB ring.
Dan Marino
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Oh, Danny boy, the pipes … but in your case, the arm of your gun. And still couldn’t get it done. Not fully your fault, though. Ran up to better teams.
The prolific passer, who held several passing records until Brees, Brady and Manning came along, still remains as one of the greats.
Bruce Smith
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Smith has more career sacks (200) than any other player since that stat became official in 1982.
He played 19 years in the league and the former No. 1 overall draft pick (out of Virginia Tech) is an eight-time first-team All-Pro and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2009.
Jim Kelly
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Kelly led the Buffalo Bills to four straight Super Bowls (think about that for a second) but ran into teams that they couldn’t conquer. Not Kelly’s fault. We won’t name names but it’s a bit odd they never won one.
Fran Tarkenton
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Fran was the Man who steered the Vikings’ Super Bowl ship to three Super Bowls, which all turned into losses. He didn’t play great in those games but at least he got them there and he’s a well-deserved Hall of Famer.
Anthony Munoz
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The Hall of Famer (1998) was one of the best offensive linemen to ever play the game. Munoz protected Cincinnati quarterbacks Ken Anderson and Boomer Esiason, both of whom led the Bengals to Super Bowls (XVI and XXIII, each close hard-fought losses to the 49ers.
Champ Bailey
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Champ Bailey was a 12-time Pro Bowler during his NFL career, but he couldn’t find a way to win a Super Bowl. The one time he got into the big game, the Broncos lost the Seahawks and then Bailey retired one year later.
Junior Seau
The late, great Junior Seau was as relentless and tough as they come.
He was a 12-time Pro Bowler, a six-time All-Pro and a posthumous Hall of Famer. He made two losing appearances in the Super Bowl, one with the Chargers and the other with the Patriots. His pain, and subsequent early death, has been well-documented and it’s terrible to realize he was suffering so much, but, damn, was this guy good.
Randy Moss
One of the best receivers of all time, the 2018 Hall of Fame inductee, though he tried (Vikings) and tried (Patriots) and tried (Niners), just couldn’t get one.
Carl Eller/Alan Page
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Yeah, we’re grouping them together. It was such a powerful duo that was part of the Vikings’ formidable “Purple People Eaters” defense, so why not. Minnesota lost all four of its Super Bowl appearances, but not because of these two.
Page was selected to nine straight Pro Bowls and did not miss a game in his career.
Eller was one of 11 Vikings to play in all four of their Super Bowls. He was selected to play in six Pro Bowls.
Paul Krause
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Yup, another Viking.
Paul Krause is one of several Minnesota Vikings to make this list, as they had a dominating team in the ’70s yet failed to come up on top in any one of their four Super Bowl appearances.
Krause played his first four seasons with the Washington Redskins, where he intercepted 28 passes. He was then traded to the Vikings, where he played for 12 years before retiring.
Krause was an eight-time Pro-Bowler and was voted into the Hall of Fame in 1998.
Jack Youngblood
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He was a five-time All-Pro and a seven-time Pro Bowl selection and was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2001.
His 1979 Los Angeles Rams lost in Super Bowl XIV, but Youngblood’s toughness made him a legend in NFL lore because he played in the Super Bowl and NFC title game despite having suffered a fractured left fibula in the first round of the playoffs.
Bruce Matthews
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One of the toughest offensive tackles to ever come around. He spent his whole career playing for the Houston /Tennessee Oilers /Titans franchise. In his first year of eligibility, Matthews was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2007. He was a 14-time Pro Bowler but the Titans lost a last-second 23-16 Super Bowl XXXIV thriller in 2000 against the St. Louis Rams.
Kevin Greene
Greene signed as a free agent with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1993 and returned to his status as a premier pass rusher after being with the Rams. He led the NFL in sacks in both 1994 and 1996. With the Steelers, Greene appeared in his only Super Bowl, a 27-17 loss to the Dallas Cowboys.
