Sam Darnold is an American NFL quarterback born in California in 1997. He played college football at the University of Southern California before being picked third overall by the New York Jets in the 2018 NFL draft. After playing for several teams, he had a big comeback with the Minnesota Vikings and now plays for the Seattle Seahawks. He helped Seattle win Super Bowl LX, one of his biggest career achievements, showing he played at the highest level in football.
Sam Darnold’s NFL Career Journey With Big Stats and Wins
Sam Darnold is an American football quarterback who was picked third overall in the 2018 NFL Draft by the New York Jets after playing at USC. Over his career, he has played for five teams, including the Jets, Panthers, 49ers, Vikings, and Seattle Seahawks. In 2025, he threw 4048 yards and 25 touchdowns and led Seattle to a Super Bowl win. So far in his career, he has 123 touchdown passes and 20,431 total passing yards, showing he has become a strong NFL starter.
Sam Darnold’s NFL Career and Key Stats Story
Sam Darnold is an American football quarterback who began his NFL career in 2018 when he was picked third overall in the NFL draft. Over his career, he has thrown for 20,431 passing yards and 123 touchdowns in regular-season games, with a 62.3 percent completion rate and 86.5 passer rating as of 2025. He has played for the Jets, Panthers, 49ers, Vikings, and Seattle Seahawks, helping Seattle win Super Bowl LX.
Sam Darnold’s Top Career Highlights and Biggest Milestones
Sam Darnold is a successful NFL quarterback who has won several big awards. He became a Super Bowl champion in Super Bowl LX with the Seahawks and was selected to the Pro Bowl twice in 2024 and 2025. He also won Offensive Player of the Week awards and Comeback Player of the Year in 2024. Darnold holds records like being the youngest QB with a passer rating over 110 and the only QB with 14 wins in his first season with two teams, showing he is a top player in the league.
Sam Darnold’s Three Biggest Off-Field and Game Controversies
Sam Darnold faced a money controversy after a Super Bowl bonus of 178000 dollars was heavily taxed in California. Because of jock tax rules and a 13.3 percent rate on duty days, reports said his tax bill was about 249000 dollars, leading to talk about whether big games should be held there.
In late 2024, fans talked about a small finger injury called pinkygate after a few missed throws. It was checked and later treated as not serious.
Another controversy came in a 2025 game vs the Rams when an overturned call helped Seattle get an unexpected two-point conversion, which made Rams fans very upset and started a big debate online.
Sam Darnold Super Bowl Win Contract And Comeback Story
Sam became a Super Bowl champion on Feb 8, 2026, and was praised for playing mistake-free football in the final. After the season, NFL.com ranked him number 7 among all quarterbacks. He also signed a three-year contract worth 100.5 million dollars with Seattle and is seen as a franchise quarterback. News stories call his journey a comeback from bust to champion. He is also engaged to Katie Hoofnagle, who celebrated his win.
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