Derick Hall had to battle just to live — and he’s now forever in Seahawks lore after epic Super Bowl 2026

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Derick Hall lifted the Lombardi Trophy not knowing that it weighed more than twice as much as he did when he was born. 

The 24-year-old Seahawks linebacker — born premature at 23 weeks, weighing 2 pounds, 9 ounces, and given a 1 percent chance to survive — reached a new peak in a most remarkable journey Sunday when he tallied two sacks and created the knockout punch takeaway in a 29-13 victory against the Patriots in Super Bowl 2026.

“What it took for me to get here, what it took for me just to be alive and have a chance, all glory to God,” Hall said after an emotional hug with his crying mother, Stacy Gooden-Crandle.

Derick Hall celebrates after winning Super Bowl 2026. AP

“Kudos to Mom. She’s the unsung warrior of this whole process. She always fought for me.”

If there was a poster boy for “The Dark Side’s” dominant defensive performance, it was Hall. Though he had plenty of help from Devon Witherspoon, Byron Murphy, Ernest Jones IV, Uchenna Nwosu and others.

“This is what every kid dreams about, but I started playing the game just to get my lung capacity up,” said Hall, who signed up for football at 4 years old. “And just maybe run around a little bit. I fell in love with the game. It allowed me to be a normal kid. I would always sit and watch other kids running around outside and I wasn’t about to do those things. That’s what led to my love and this moment.” 

The Seahawks already had sacked Drake Maye four times in the building of a 12-0 lead, but there was an unrest that the Patriots were just one big play away from making it a game that they could steal.

That changed when the 250-pound Hall punched the ball out of Maye’s hand as he wrapped him up for sack. The Seahawks turned the game’s first turnover into the game’s first touchdown.

“I was able to power the tackle and get the strip-sack,” Hall said, crediting Leonard Williams for clearing his path to the quarterback.

Derick Hall sacks and strips Drake Maye of the ball. AP

Just like that, the seven-pound trophy for the Super Bowl champions was all but Seattle’s.

“That’s crazy,” Hall said of the weight comparisons. “It’s truly a blessing.”

The neonatal intensive care unit that helped save his life on March 19, 2001, reportedly printed up flyers this week celebrating Hall’s journey:

“Good luck Derick Hall & the Seattle Seahawks. We’re cheering you on from the NICU at Memorial Hospital.”

Hall was removed from life support for the first time at about 3 weeks, when doctors decided it was time to “sink or swim,” his mother said. He breathed on his own and swam all the way to the top of his profession.