DERICK HALL says he feels “very blessed” to win the Super Bowl after he was born four months premature and given a “1 per cent” chance of survival.

 

 

 

The linebacker won the Lombardi trophy for the first time in Sunday’s showpiece as the Seattle Seahawks dominated the New England Patriots 29-13.
Super Bowl LX: New England Patriots v Seattle Seahawks
Derick Hall said he felt ‘blessed’ to win the Super Bowl after nearly dying at birth

 
Super Bowl LX: New England Patriots v Seattle Seahawks
Hall was crucial to Seahawks’ win over the Patriots after a number of key plays

 

 

 

 

 

Hall delivered a star display with multiple key plays for the Seahawks defense as he recorded 2.0 sacks and recorded a key fumble.

The 24-year-old was emotional after the game as the NFL star spoke about about his journey and how he was given very low odds at birth.

He and mother Stacey shared a special embrace on the field and Hall praised her for sticking by his side during his life and career.

 

 

 

 

Hall said: “Everyone knows my story, what it took for me to get here, what it took for me just to be alive and have the chance.”

“I’m very blessed – kudos to [my] mom. That was a special moment after the game.

“I feel like she’s an unsung hero, an unsung warrior through this whole process. She always fought for me. She never gave up.

“Mom doesn’t miss a game. From the time I started playing football at 4 to tonight, my mom has been at every single game.”

 

 

 

 

Stacey previously revealed to ESPN in 2023 that Hall had “about 20 physicians and specialists” around her in hospital when she gave birth.

She claimed doctors told her Hall might have “no quality of life”. She was also told that she could sign a form that would allow them to take him off life support.

Stacey added: “They said to me that he had a 1% chance of living and that if he lived through the night, he would have no quality of life.

Super Bowl LX: New England Patriots v Seattle Seahawks
Hall was given a 1 per cent chance of survival at birth and spent five months in an incubator

“He wouldn’t walk, he wouldn’t talk. And they basically said to me, ‘Are you prepared to take care of a child like that?’

“I did not sign that form. I could not. I had to give him a shot.”

Hall is said to spent five months in an incubator and later underwent speech and physical therapy due to the affects of his premature birth.

 

 

 

In the same interview, Hall added: “I just wanted to be a regular kid.

“But once I got into this game of football, it became my way of escape. I fell in love with it, and I took off.”

Hall played college football for the Auburn Tigers before joining the Seahawks as a second-round draft pick in 2023.