Issue #250: That’s All Folks
By Derrick Ernst
February 08, 2026
To the Very End
I’m fond of saying that you should want your fantasy team filled with players who play on teams who are contenders until the very end. Why? Because they have something to play for and you as a fantasy manger benefit from their contention. Between you and me, I’ve never vetted this thought to see if there’s any merit to it, so today we’re going to explore its truth or if I should eliminate this thinking from my so-called “teachings.”
Let’s look back at some of the most recent SB matchups and see how many players from each of their teams finished in the top-12 at their position. By saying “contenders to the very end” I don’t exclusively mean SB teams, rather playoff teams in general. But we don’t have unlimited space so I have to be selective. I hope you don’t mind.
2025
Teams: SEA vs. NE
SEA’s top-12: 3 — JSN (WR2), D/ST (1), J. Meyers (K1)
NE’s top-12: 4 — D. Maye (QB3), H. Henry (TE6), D/ST (10), A. Borregales (K11)
Total: 7 out of 12 possibilities (58%)
2024
Teams: KC vs. PHI
KC’s top-12: 2 — P. Mahomes (QB11), T. Kelce (TE6)
PHI’s top-12: 4 — J. Hurts (QB9), S. Barkley (RB1), D/ST (8), J. Elliott (K12)
Total: 6 out of 12 possibilities (50%)
2023
Teams: SF vs. KC
SF’s top-12: 5 — B. Purdy (QB6), CMC (RB1), D. Samuel (WR12), G. Kittle (TE5), D/ST (11)
KC’s top-12: 3 — P. Mahomes (QB8), T. Kelce (TE3), H. Butker (K7)
Total: 8 out of 12 possibilities (67%)
2022
Teams: KC vs. PHI
KC’s top-12: 3 — P. Mahomes (QB1), T. Kelce (TE1), D/ST (8)
PHI’s top-12: 6 — J. Hurts (QB3), S. Barkley (RB6), AJ Brown (WR5), D. Smith (WR10), D. Goedert (TE12), D/ST (4)
Total: 9 out of 12 possibilities (75%)
2021
Teams: LAR vs. CIN
LAR’s top-12: 3 — M. Stafford (QB5), C. Kupp (WR1), M. Gay (K5)
CIN’s top-12: 4 — J. Burrow (QB8), J. Mixon (RB3), J. Chase (WR5), E. McPherson (K8)
Total: 7 out of 12 possibilities (58%)
Summary
One thing I didn’t account for in the “out of 12 possibilities” was the possibility for multiple top-12 finishes for positions like RB and WR, most specifically, the latter. I just assumed that reality was out of scope. It was until PHI bucked the trend in ’22.
As it turns out (and I’ll admit it’s a relief), having players on your fantasy roster who play for contending teams does make a meaningful difference. Over the past five years, 7.4 players on average who play in the SB finished top-12 at their position that season. That’s 62% of the time. In my mind, anything above 50% is a win. We’ll take it!
How about the run the Mahomes/Kelce duo had. Three consecutive SB appearances. Three consecutive top-12 finishes. What’s crazy is that they’ve actually accomplished this feat over all five of these seasons. They just got outgunned by other AFC teams in the two years they didn’t make the big game. There’s a lot more I want to say here, but I want to move onto a few other things so I’ll close with this, Mahomes won his first SB in his second season as full-time starter. Maye is in the same boat this season…
Rings
I like to knock ESPN, but one of the things they get right are their “animated” articles. They released one the other day highlighting every Super Bowl ring in existence and I couldn’t get enough of it:
Check out the link, you’ll know what I mean. Is it bad of me to say that I prefer the simplicity of the older rings more than the flashiness of those today? This was the first time I’ve actually sat down and had an uninterrupted look at all the rings at once. I have some favorites:
1) Super Bowl XIII (1978) won by the Pittsburgh Steelers
Source: Memorabilia Expert
2) Super Bowl XXX (1995) won by the Dallas Cowboys
3) Super Bowl XXX (2007) won by the New York Giants
4) Super Bowl XXXI (1996) won by the Green Bay Packers
5) Super Bowl XXXII (1997) won by the Denver Broncos
Honorable Mentions: Super Bowl XX (1985) won by the Chicago Bears and Super Bowl XXIII (1988) won by the San Francisco 49ers
What I found is that I’m drawn to rings that are all diamonds (aka. no colored gemstones). You can’t find any rings these days like this, which is one of the reasons I’m drawn to the rings of old. What was also eye-opening is the number of rings that look identical to each other outside of the team name and logo (see ’98-’01 and NE’s rings from ’14, ’16, and ’18). I could be wrong, but I think ring manufacturers are just like the folks at Nike making uniforms, they’re under contract with the NFL for a certain # of years which likely prompts some of the similarities.
These days, there seems to be more interest in out dueling the last ring that the functionality of it has gone out the wayside. Wouldn’t you want to have a ring that you could throw on for a Fri/Sat night out, not one you need to wear around your neck on a chain? I certainly would. At this rate, the rings are getting so large that the only way to showcase them is in a case on your mantel. There’s something to be said about the subtleness of the rings of old. They’re the right level of “loud” that wearing it doesn’t make it about yourself. In my opinion, that’s the perfect recipe.
Prediction
I’d like to resurface this pic from last year’s pre-Super Bowl festivities:
Source: Facebook (Dez Morris)
It’s kind of feeling like to me that NE is this year’s PHI. And because of that I’m leaning on my gut when I say: NE 23 vs. SEA 20 / MVP: C. Gonzalez
There’s not enough people talking about how the experience of NE’s coaching staff will play into today’s outcome. I think it will. I also think there’s enough finesse in NE’s D/ST to rattle SEA’s feathers. Enjoy the game!
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