With all the talk of Tom Brady reaching his 10th Super Bowl, there’s been less discussion of Rob Gronkowski reaching his fifth. But a fifth Super Bowl, which Gronkowski will play in on Sunday, is an impressive achievement in its own right.
Gronkowski will become the 22nd player in NFL history to play in at least five Super Bowls when he takes the field on Sunday. He played in the Super Bowls following the 2011, 2014, 2017 and 2018 seasons with the Patriots, and he was injured and missed the Super Bowl when the Patriots made it after the 2016 season.
Brady and Gronk are two of the 22 players who have played in at least five Super Bowls, and seven others were teammates of Brady’s on the Patriots. Getting to a lot of Super Bowls is usually the mark of a good player, but it’s not necessarily the mark of a great player: Sometime a player who played in a lot of Super Bowls just happened to be on a lot of good teams.
Here’s the complete list of players who have played in at least five Super Bowls, counting Brady and Gronkowski on Sunday:
Ten Super Bowls
Tom Brady, New England, XXXVI, XXXVIII-XXXIX, XLII, XLVI, XLIX, LI-LIII; Tampa Bay, LV
Six Super Bowls
Mike Lodish, Buffalo, XXV-XXVIII; Denver, XXXII-XXXIII
Stephen Gostkowski, New England, XLII, XLVI, XLIX, LI-LIII
Five Super Bowls
Marv Fleming, Green Bay, I-II; Miami, VI-VIII
Larry Cole, Dallas, V-VI, X, XII-XIII
Cliff Harris, Dallas, V-VI, X, XII-XIII
Charles Haley, San Francisco, XXIII-XXIV; Dallas, XXVII-XXVIII, XXX
D.D. Lewis, Dallas, V-VI, X, XII-XIII
Preston Pearson, Baltimore, III; Pittsburgh, IX; Dallas, X, XII-XIII
Charlie Waters, Dallas, V-VI, X, XII-XIII
Rayfield Wright, Dallas, V-VI, X, XII-XIII
Cornelius Bennett, Buffalo, XXV-XXVIII; Atlanta, XXXIII
John Elway, Denver, XXI-XXII, XXIV, XXXII-XXXIII
Glenn Parker, Buffalo, XXV-XXVIII; N.Y. Giants, XXXV
Bill Romanowski, San Francisco, XXIII-XXIV; Denver, XXXII-XXXIII; Oakland, XXXVII
Adam Vinatieri, New England, XXXI, XXXVI, XXXVIII, XXXIX; Indianapolis, XLI
Tedy Bruschi, New England, XXXI, XXXVI, XXXVIII-XXXIX, XLII
Matt Light, New England, XXXVI, XXXVIII-XXXIX, XLII, XLVI
Patrick Chung, New England, XLVI, XLIX, LI-LIII
Devin McCourty, New England, XLVI, XLIX, LI-LIII
Matthew Slater, New England, XLVI, XLIX, LI-LIII
Rob Gronkowski, New England, XLVI, XLIX, LII, LIII; Tampa Bay, LV