Sam Darnold is riding the kind of high most quarterbacks only dream about-and it’s not just because he’s fresh off hoisting the Lombardi Trophy. The Seattle Seahawks’ signal-caller just capped off a storybook season with a Super Bowl 60 win, and now he’s gearing up for another major milestone: tying the knot with fiancée Katie Hoofnagle in just a few weeks.
In a behind-the-scenes moment captured by NFL Films and shared on Instagram, Darnold was seen soaking in the postgame celebration with family and friends. But even amid the confetti and chaos, his mind was already drifting to what’s next.
“Is it weird that I’m thinking about the wedding right now and that it’s in a month?” he said to NBC’s Maria Taylor during their on-field interview, flashing the kind of grin that says life’s pretty good right now.
And why wouldn’t it be? Darnold’s journey to this point has been anything but conventional. Once labeled a bust after going third overall in the 2018 NFL Draft to the New York Jets, he bounced around the league, suiting up for the Panthers, 49ers, and Vikings before finally finding his footing in Seattle.
But before we get to the championship moment, let’s rewind to 2024-when Darnold, then with the Minnesota Vikings, stepped in for an injured J.J. McCarthy and delivered the best statistical season of his career.
He threw for 4,319 yards, 35 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions, helping Minnesota reach the playoffs. Though the Vikings fell to the Rams in the Wild Card Round, Darnold had finally shown he could command an offense at a high level.
That performance opened the door to Seattle, where Darnold took the reins and didn’t look back. In his first year with the Seahawks, he led the team to a 14-win regular season-matching his total from the year prior-and threw for 4,048 yards, 25 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions. But the real story was in the postseason: Darnold didn’t commit a single turnover throughout the playoffs, steering the Seahawks all the way to a Super Bowl title.
It was the kind of redemption arc you don’t often see in the NFL-a quarterback once written off as a journeyman, now a champion.
Off the field, Darnold’s life is following a similarly upward trajectory. He and Hoofnagle, a University of South Carolina grad who earned her degree in business administration in 2020, went public with their relationship in April 2023. Just over two years later, they’re set to get married, having announced their engagement in the summer of 2025-right before Darnold’s breakout season in Seattle.
So, yes, it’s a lot. A Super Bowl ring, a wedding on the horizon, and a career finally living up to its early promise. But for Sam Darnold, it’s also a moment he’s clearly savoring-on the field and off.