The NFL is coming to an end, and the Illinois football program will have representation in a big way in the final game of the season.
With the Super Bowl right around the corner, the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots will go head-to-head to see who takes home the Lombardi Trophy. The opening coin toss will get the on-field festivities started, and a former Illini All-American will be a part of this event.
On Friday, the Seahawks social media account posted the three captains for the Super Bowl. They will have Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Brady Russell, and former Illinois cornerback Devon Witherspoon out there at midfield.
Leading the way for SBLX. pic.twitter.com/zO6aEX6xAG
— xz* - Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) January 30, 2026
It was already cool enough that Illinois is guaranteed a Super Bowl this season. Witherspoon plays on the Seahawks, while Tommy DeVito and Vederian Lowe are both on the Patriots’ sidelines.
Witherspoon has definitely earned the great honor of being out there for the coin toss as a captain. He is in his third season with Seattle, all of which have been Pro Bowl years. He was also voted first-team All-Pro as a rookie and second-team All-Pro this season.
Throughout his first three seasons in the league, Witherspoon has amassed 249 tackles, 32 pass deflections, 16 tackles for loss, and two interceptions.
Devon Witherspoon gets to be a part of a classic Super Bowl prop bet to start the game
The Bret Bielema era of Illinois football has erased any doubt that if you come to Champaign, you can get to the highest levels of the NFL. On Super Bowl Sunday, we will get to see Witherspoon out there for the opening coin toss, and he might even get to call it in the air.
This is also one of the classic prop bets out there. Whether the coin lands heads or tails is currently going off at -103 for both bets on DraftKings.
There is also the bet of which team will win the coin toss. Currently, that bet is going off at -105 for both teams.