Originally appeared on E! Online
Jalen Hurts is ready for his do-over.
The Philadelphia Eagles are playing in their second Super Bowl in three years on Feb. 9—and their opponent is once again the Kansas City Chiefs, the Patrick Mahomes-led team that defeated them in 2023 by the heartbreaking score of 38-35.
But that was then and this is now.
“Next question,” Hurts said with a small smile when the Eagles quarterback was recently asked what his most vivid memory from that game was.
Not that the 26-year-old isn’t fired up as the Eagles look to deny the Chiefs a historic championship three-peat in Super Bowl LIX at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.
“You’re motivated by any time you come up short in anything, having that perspective of just trying to learn from all your lessons,” Hurts explained during a Jan. 31 press conference. “No shortcoming is bigger than another, you just want to learn from them all.”
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Meanwhile, his M.O. is the same advice he gives his teammates who have never played on football’s biggest stage before: “My approach is just to take it a day at a time,” he said. “It starts with the preparation throughout the week, being diligent with the work, putting the time in, putting forth the effort—so when it’s time to go out there and go, you feel prepared.”
Wise words from a quarterback who’s been up and down the field a few times.
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In addition to having the perspective that comes with time and experience, Hurts is also headed to the big game this year with a fiancée in his cheering section: He got engaged to sweetheart Bryonna “Bry” Rivera Burrows at the beginning of the 2024 season.
So the Chiefs can have former Eagles fan Taylor Swift.
Hurts met Burrows at University of Alabama and they dated on and off through his transfer to University of Oklahoma, where he played one season before being drafted by the Eagles in 2020.
The fans who’ve been rooting for them ever since noticed a big diamond on that finger when she cozied up to her QB on the sideline when the Eagles played the Packers Sept. 6 in São Paolo, Brazil. And the super-private athlete, who had previously shared with Essence that he was “spoken for,” confirmed their suspicions a couple weeks later.
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Though there may have been a little interference along the way, Hurts told the publication in 2023 he “knew a long time ago” that Burrows was the one. “I mean, to this point in my life, that’s an irreplaceable feeling. I think that’s what allowed us to get to where we are now.”
So while he takes his job seriously—”In the end, it’s a business trip,” he said of the mission at hand—Hurts isn’t all work and no play.
Before Super Bowl LIX kicks off, brush up on your Hurts stats right here:
Friendly Competition
Jalen Hurts made history when his Philadelphia Eagles and Patrick Mahomes‘ Kansas City Chiefs faced off in the 2023 Super Bowl: It’s the first time two Black signal-callers will square off on American sports’ biggest stage.
The Chiefs took that one, 38-35, and the Eagles are looking to even the score. (Or, more accurately, dominate by at least one point.)
Life Before the NFL
After growing up near Houston, Jalen attended University of Alabama from 2016 to 2018 before being displaced by Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
He later transferred to the University of Oklahoma for the 2019 season, then entered the 2020 NFL draft.
Winning Team
During his career, Jalen has built an all-female management team. “I have a team of straight hustlers,” he previously told Sports Illustrated. “And that’s how I am on the field and off the field.”
Paying it Forward
When he’s not throwing touchdowns, Jalen makes it a priority to volunteer with various charities. As seen on Instagram, he has worked with the Eagles Autism Foundation, Operation HOPE and various youth football camps. “Spreading Love & Positivity With Some Young Dreamchasers,” he wrote on Instagram in June 2021. “Every Seed Has The Potential To Change The World!”
Winning Attitude
Before competing in Super Bowl 2023, Jalen was asked about facing critics in his career. “I had a purpose before anybody had an opinion,” he said during a Feb. 9 press conference. “It’s not about anyone else.”
When reporters remained silent, the quarterback added, “Y’all know y’all liked that one.”
Sports Stud
According to NFL Therapy, Jalen can deadlift 656 pounds. And before he even stepped foot onto a college campus, he was benching 275 pounds. Impressed now?
Long-Term Deal
Jalen keeps his personal life pretty private, but he was happy to share with Essence in September 2024 that he was engaged to his longtime love Bryonna “Bry” Burrows.
The couple met as students University of Alabama and, though they haven’t been together the whole time since, he told Essence in 2023 that he knew Bry was endgame.
“I mean, to this point in my life, that’s an irreplaceable feeling,” he said. “I think that’s what allowed us to get to where we are now.”
