Former Penn tight end Justin Watson aims to win his fourth Super Bowl with the Kansas City Chiefs on Feb. 9.
Credit: Zach SheldonNEW ORLEANS — Three-time Super Bowl champion, but most importantly, a Penn alumnus.
This weekend, Penn football alumnus and 2018 Wharton graduate Justin Watson will attempt to accomplish a feat that no other Ivy League player has ever done in history — win four Super Bowls.
If Watson takes home the Lombardi Trophy on Sunday, he will not only be a part of the Chiefs’ dynastic and historic three-peat, but he will also surpass James Devlin of Brown and become the sole leader of Super Bowl wins in Ivy League history. Having broken multiple records while at Penn, Watson is arguably the most accomplished player in Penn football history. After winning three Super Bowls already, a fourth would be a cherry on top.
“I did not even know [until you said it],” Watson said on the possibility of having the most Super Bowl wins in Ivy League history. “I always love it when Penn football is at the top of the Ivy League records books and that would be really cool to be up top there.”
It isn’t every day that you see a player from the Ancient Eight on the game’s biggest stage. In fact, the Big Easy isn’t so easy after all — Watson is the only Ivy League player in this year’s Super Bowl. Moreover, wide receiver of the Kansas City Chiefs Xavier Worthy commented on what it means to have Watson in the locker room.
“[Watson] is funny though, he’s secretly funny. Just having him, he’s a true leader. A guy that’s going to work consistently to be here,” Worthy said. “Happy [Watson] is here.”
Moreover, quarterback Patrick Mahomes noticed how the chemistry in the wide receivers’ room is evident, considering that the players like Deandre Hopkins, Xavier Worthy, Juju Smith-Schuster, and Justin Watson, are all at different stages of their careers.
“It’s so much fun to see how much they like each other. All of [the wide receivers] have made their own personality part of that receiving room,” Mahomes said. “They get along, they celebrate together, they spend time together. When we get a good tight-knit group that’s when we get the best out of each other and that’s what they’ve done in that receiver room.”
Furthermore, coach Andy Reid noted Watson’s consistency and effort, making big plays for the team in key moments. One of which included a successful two-point conversion catch against the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship Game.
“Great player,” Reid said of Watson. “He’s been a big part of our season, contributing and making big plays. He goes 100 miles an hour every play.”
Much of Watson’s character is influenced by his time at his alma mater, where he studied finance at Wharton. Although his accomplishments on the gridiron are significant, Watson believes that the combination of a business degree and his experience playing for Penn football is unmatched.
“There’s such a value in the education and while at another university you might get a small paycheck on the front end, I just think there’s such an immense value of an education from the University of Pennsylvania,” Watson said. “So, if it was me and if I was still playing at Penn today and I was still playing all four years, I wouldn’t give up one game with my guys at Franklin Field.”
Last year during the Super Bowl, Watson showed off his business knowledge by talking about his predictions for a potential rate in the fourth quarter of the calendar year. This year, the Wharton alum walked through what a discounted cash flow analysis is – not bad for a man going for his fourth Super Bowl ring.
“I’ve had a few internships while I was in Philly, one was Logan Circle Partners as a fixed income manager, so shout out to them,” Watson said. “For [discounted cash flow analysis] you are trying to model out the cash flows of a company over the lifetime of the company and you are going to make multiple evaluations for the company as a whole.”
Even on the biggest stage, Watson didn’t forget those who got him here. It is evident that the close-knit relationships that he built with the Penn football community has helped shaped his perspective on the gravity of making it to yet another Super Bowl.
“Big shoutout to the 210 crew, those are all my college roommates, South 42nd Street,” Watson said. “[I] wanna [also] give a big shoutout to just our Penn alumni group, specifically Bobby Fallon, who is a mentor of mine, head of Penn Football Alumni Association, he’s a really good friend of mine.”
Looking forward to Sunday, his team’s battle against the Philadelphia Eagles is expected to be a heavyweight fight. With history on the line, Watson knows what this game means to him.
“A really special moment is always getting to celebrate with my wife after the game,” Watson said on playing in three Super Bowls. “Hopefully this year has the same."
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