The Unique Connection Between U.S. Presidents and Super Bowl Quarterbacks, and How Super Bowl LX Could Add to It

NEED TO KNOW

• Only five schools have produced both a U.S. president and a Super Bowl-winning quarterback
• If Drake Maye and the New England Patriots win Super Bowl LX, he could add to the list
• Maye attended the University of North Carolina, the same alma mater as 11th U.S. President James K. Polk

New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye could make history if he leads his team to victory in Super Bowl LX.

It wouldn't just be for returning the Patriots to glory a few short years after the end of the Tom Brady-Bill Belichick dynasty. By leading the Pats to victory over the Seattle Seahawks, Maye would also bring a rare distinction to his alma mater, the University of North Carolina.

Following the AFC championship game, in which Maye and the Patriots clinched their first Super Bowl appearance since 2018, Yahoo! Sports' Kendall Baker took to X to point out an interesting fact: only five colleges throughout history have produced both a U.S. president and a Super Bowl-winning quarterback.

If Maye leads his team to victory on Feb. 8, he will make UNC the sixth. In addition to athletic superstars like Michael Jordan and Mia Hamm and cultural icons like Andy Griffith and Thomas Wolff, the Chapel Hill campus was also the academic home of James K. Polk, a native of Pineville, N.C., who went on to serve as the 11th president of the United States.

Read on below to learn more about the rest of the exclusive list:

The University of Delaware: President Joe Biden and Ravens QB Joe Flacco

The most recent addition to the list, the University of Delaware had more to brag about when Joe Biden was elected president in 2020. Biden was the first former "Fightin' Blue Hen" to become president, having earned his Bachelor of Arts degree with a double major in history and political science in 1965.

Forty years later, another Joe would transfer from the University of Pittsburgh to become UD's quarterback from 2005 to 2007, though he had to sit out his entire first season with the Hens. Joe Flacco set 20 school records during his time under center at Delaware and led the team to the FCS National Championship Game during his final season. He would go on to be drafted by the Baltimore Ravens, and led the team to victory in Super Bowl XLVII, becoming not just a league champion but a Super Bowl MVP.

Biden abandoned his reelection bid in 2024 amid concerns about his health and viability, saying he believed it was "in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down."

In parallel, following stints with the Jets, Broncos, and Eagles, Flacco was benched by the struggling Cleveland Browns in the first month of the 2025 NFL season, which many considered a death knell for his career. However, following injuries to their top two quarterbacks, the Cincinnati Bengals traded for Flacco mid-season, and the 41-year-old helped them limp through the rest of their schedule, though they ultimately missed the playoffs.

Miami University (Ohio): President Benjamin Harrison and Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger

Shockingly, the second example of a president and a Super Bowl-winning quarterback who shared not only an alma mater but also a first name, the Benjamins both attended Miami University, located in Oxford, Ohio.

Both also got off to somewhat modest beginnings. Benjamin Harrison was born and raised in North Bend, Ohio. His family was notable, as his grandfather, William Henry Harrison, was the ninth president of the United States, but the White House carried far less publicity at the time and Benjamin did not grow up wealthy. The future president lost an election to become governor of Indiana before winning a Senate bid in 1880 on his way to the White House. He beat incumbent Grover Cleveland to win the presidency, but would be defeated by the same man four years later, cutting his D.C. career short.

Benjamin Roethlisberger's modest start wasn't due in any way to a lack of athletic prowess; he was captain of the football, basketball, and baseball teams at Findlay High School, near his hometown of Lima, Ohio. However, the future six-time Pro Bowler didn't play quarterback until his senior year, instead starring as a wide receiver. He went on to a successful career at Miami, breaking school records in completions, passing yards, and passing touchdowns, and becoming just the third athlete in school history to have his number retired.

Roethlisberger was drafted by the Steelers in 2004 and would spend the entirety of his 17-year career with the team, winning two Super Bowl titles. He currently still holds NFL records for career 500-yard passing games (four) and completions in a game (47), and is tied with Lamar Jackson for most career games with a perfect passer rating (four).

The University of Michigan: President Gerald Ford and Patriots/Buccaneers QB Tom Brady

Perhaps the U.S. president best known for his years on the gridiron, Gerald Ford was the star player of the University of Michigan football team about 60 years before a young Bay Area upstart named Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. would take the field for the Wolverines.

The future president attended Grand Rapids South High School, where he was captain of the football team and went on to a successful college career at Michigan, where helped lead the team to two consecutive national championships in 1932 and 1933.

He then attended Yale Law School while also coaching the Yale University football team, and, following a post-Pearl Harbor stint in the U.S. Navy, went on to be elected as a U.S. congressman, representing Michigan's 5th District, and his hometown of Grand Rapids, from 1949 to 1973. Ford assumed the vice presidency under Richard Nixon in 1974 when Spiro Agnew resigned, and, shortly thereafter, was sworn in as president when Nixon also resigned due to the Watergate scandal. He was known to have the Navy band play the University of Michigan fight song instead of "Hail to the Chief" during state events.

Tom Brady also assumed the top position in his field under unexpected circumstances. Underrated during his high school and college careers, he ended up starting just his final two seasons at the University of Michigan, leading the team to a 20–5 record, including two bowl game wins. He was famously drafted by the Patriots in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft, following an uninspiring combine.

But, following an injury to starter Drew Bledsoe in week two of his second pro season, Brady took over and never looked back. He led the Patriots to their first-ever Super Bowl victory that year as the youngest Super Bowl MVP in league history, starting a run that will almost certainly land him in the Hall of Fame when he is first eligible in 2028. Brady retired in 2022, widely regarded as the greatest NFL quarterback of all time: a seven-time Super Bowl winner, five-time Super Bowl MVP, and three-time league MVP, who still holds 13 career NFL records.

Stanford University: President Herbert Hoover and Broncos QB John Elway/Raiders QB Jim Plunkett

Herbert Hoover holds the distinction of being one of the first-ever graduates of the newly established Stanford University in 1895. Graduating into the economic depression known as the Panic of 1893, he first went into mining and ended up working in London at the start of World War I. His efforts there to help supply U.S. troops led to an appointment to head the U.S. Food Administration, and he went on to serve as secretary of commerce under Presidents Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge.

Despite being unpopular with both voters and many of his fellow politicians, Hoover finally won his coveted presidential nomination in 1928, decisively defeating the Democratic nominee, New York governor Al Smith. However, following the Wall Street crash of 1929 that plunged the U.S. into the Great Depression, Hoover would leave the White House in disgrace, losing his reelection bid in a landslide to Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Jim Plunkett and John Elway, meanwhile, are a study in contrast. Plunkett grew up poor in San Jose, Calif., the son of Mexican-American parents. Elway moved around as a child, from Montana to Washington to California, following his father's career as a college football coach and learning under some of the best leadership of the time.

Both excelled at Stanford. Plunkett endured health issues and position changes to finally shine in his junior and senior seasons, setting league records, leading Stanford to an upset victory over Ohio State in the 1970 Rose Bowl and becoming the first-ever Latino player to win the Heisman Trophy, beating out Joe Theismann and Archie Manning. He was drafted by the New England Patriots, but found success with the Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders, winning two championships with the team, one in each city.

While Elway didn't have as much college success — never making a bowl game and finishing second in Heisman voting — he played well eventually enough to earn a spot in the College Football Hall of Fame and also excelled at baseball, earning a selection in the second round of the 1981 MLB draft. He leveraged his baseball options in the 1983 NFL Draft, forcing the hand of the then-Baltimore Colts, who had the first-overall pick. Elway didn't want to play for the Colts, and held out, saying he planned to play baseball, until they negotiated a trade that sent him to the Denver Broncos.

That was the start of a historic run that cemented Elway as one of the greatest to play the position. He led the Broncos to three Super Bowl victories over the course of his 15-year-tenure with the team, and was MVP of Super Bowl XXXIII, the final game of his career. At the time of his retirement in 1999, Elway had the most victories by a starting quarterback, and he was also a dual threat as the only quarterback to rush for a touchdown in four separate Super Bowls. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2004.

The United States Naval Academy: President Jimmy Carter and Cowboys QB Roger Staubach

Though many U.S. presidents were members of the Navy, Carter is the only one to have graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis. Following an impressive Naval career, which saw him awarded the American Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal, China Service Medal, and National Defense Service Medal, he famously went to work as a peanut farmer before pursuing a political career.

Carter was first elected to the Georgia State Senate and then went on to serve as governor of the state from 1971 to 1975. He beat incumbent Gerald Ford in a close presidential race in 1976 to become the 39th president of the United States. Foreign policy controversies marred his presidency, leading to a crushing defeat by Ronald Reagan in 1980, making him a one-term president; however, his post-presidency life is viewed much more favorably. Carter continued in public service throughout his long life, establishing the Carter Center to fight for human rights causes and doing extensive work with Habitat for Humanity. He died in December 2024 as the longest-lived president in U.S. history, the only one to reach the age of 100.

Staubach's upbringing could have seemingly led him down a political path as well, were he not so good at football. He grew up in Cincinnati, attending Catholic schools and the New Mexico Military Institute before entering the U.S. Naval Academy in 1961. As quarterback for the Midshipmen, he won the Heisman Trophy, Maxwell Award, and the Walter Camp Memorial Trophy in his junior season, as well as leading Navy to victory in the infamous 1963 Army-Navy game, where President John F. Kennedy performed the coin toss.

He was drafted by the Cowboys as a "future" selection in 1964, as he was still under contract with the Navy, and used most of his military leave to attend minicamps with the team. He became the Cowboys' starter in 1971 and led the team to a Super Bowl victory that year, and again in 1977. He set records for passer rating and season touchdowns throughout his career and was selected to the Pro Bowl six times. Following his retirement in 1979, Staubach became the only quarterback to both win the Heisman Trophy and be elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was also awarded a Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2018.

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