By Savannah Asmann
USA Wrestling
Wrestling translates to life, leadership and sports. Especially football. Wrestlers can make excellent football players with knowledge of leverage, footwork and strength.

Several former wrestlers will play in Super Bowl LVIII on Sunday, February 11, 2024, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Kansas City Chiefs

43 Jack Cochrane, Linebacker

Jack Cochrane, an undrafted free agent, earned football All-American honors at South Dakota. He wrestled for Mount Vernon in Iowa and was teammates with Buccaneers All-Pro Tristan Wirfs. Cochrane qualified for the Iowa state tournament in 2016 but did not place.

Check out tweet from Wirfs swapping jerseys with Cochrane after the Chiefs played the Buccaneers in October.

73 Nick Allegretti, Guard

Nick Allegretti’s accolades make him the most accomplished wrestler on the field.

He was a four-year starter at Lincoln Way East High School in Illinois. He placed third in class 3A in his senior season and finished 45-2.

He was part of the Chiefs’ 2020 Super Bowl champion team.

Allegretti still uses stance and motion drills to warm up for games.

52 Creed Humphrey, Center

Creed Humphrey began wrestling when he was 4 in Shawnee, Oklahoma. His father, Chad, became a three-time All-American at the University of Central of Oklahoma. Humphrey earned a runner-up finish in the Oklahoma state tournament. He played his college ball at Oklahoma and was the Chiefs’ second round pick in 2021.

Read more about Humphrey’s wrestling background in these features:

Nate Taylor of The Athletic: Before Chiefs, Creed Humphrey’s ascending path was propelled by years of wrestling

Chris Low of ESPN: “Country strong’ Creed Humphrey a powerful engine at center of Oklahoma offense

77 Lucas Niang, Offensive Lineman

Lucas Niang is a third-year offensive lineman with the Chiefs in 2023. He was selected 96th overall in the 2020 NFL Draft by the Kansas City Chiefs. Niang wrestled at New Canaan High School in Connecticut, along with playing football.

San Francisco 49ers

64 Jake Brendel, Offensive Lineman

Jake Brendel is in his fourth year with the San Francisco 49ers after being acquired as a free agent in 2020. Brendel attended Plano East Senior High School in Texas, where he was named all-district first-team as an offensive lineman as a junior and senior. He spent five years at UCLA prior to making his debut in the NFL.

As a kid, Brendel enjoyed participating in several sports, including wrestling, basketball, baseball, lacrosse, swimming and football.

Note: USA Wrestling posts this article each year to celebrate the strong connection between wrestling and football. The idea is to celebrate all the wrestlers who have reached the Super Bowl each year. If we have missed somebody from either the Kansas City Chiefs or San Francisco 49ers who wrestled, please let us know. We will add them immediately. Please tell us where they wrestled (and any other data), and send an email to sasmann@usawrestling.org.