After being heralded as the hero of Super Bowl XLIX, for making an interception on the one yard line with 20 seconds left, Patriots undrafted rookie cornerback Malcolm Butler's life changed forever.
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February 1, 2015: Malcom Butler’s interception at the goal line seals a 28-24 Patriots win over the Seahawks at Super Bowl XLIX in Glendale. pic.twitter.com/UWQGE7ppBr
— This Day In Sports Clips (@TDISportsClips) February 1, 2023
The game-saving play in Super Bowl 49 vs. the Seattle Seahawks, resulted in Tom Brady gifting Butler his MVP prize award, a brand new red Chevy truck. In addition, he immediately found himself appearing on SportsCenter, Good Morning America, and even a guest appearance at the Grammy's. Not to mention, being swarmed everywhere he went by fans asking for autographs.
Then Butler went on to start three more seasons for the Patriots, earning Pro Bowl honors (2015) and being selected to second team All Pro (2016), along with winning another Super Bowl LI victory.
That is, during the 2017-18 season, Butler was regarded as a Top 2 cornerback on the roster, alongside Stephon Gilmore.
With this in mind, the biggest question of Butler's career came during Super Bowl LII, a game in which he never played in.
To the surprise of everyone watching, Butler never stepped foot onto the field at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on February 4, 2018, in what would have been his third Super Bowl appearance.
That is, Butler's absence from Super Bowl 52, a 41-33 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, still remains a mystery.
Many rumors have circulated in the media as to why Butler may have not been allowed to play in the big game, and the man himself was asked to answer this, while keeping the narrative that it was "a coaching decision."
Malcolm Butler FINALLY answers why he didn't play in SB 52@IAmJamesStewart @TonyMassarotti @bigjimmurray @mikefelger @MaggioreKevin @FelgerAndMazz @kfabrizio985 pic.twitter.com/5hEuWMNd7m
— 98.5 The Sports Hub (@985TheSportsHub) February 5, 2025
The growing speculation as to why Butler was not allowed to play has given way to a few interesting theories.
Some say it was a fight with members of the coaching staff, while others claim he was out partying and broke curfew. Whatever he did, it evidently made head coach Bill Belichick upset enough to bench him in the most important game of the season.
My understanding is the benching of #Patriots CB Malcolm Butler happened because of a perfect storm of issues: Sickness, a rough week of practice, and a minor rule violation believed to be related to curfew. A complicated matter. pic.twitter.com/TmUJgkHpsZ
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 5, 2018
No matter the reason, one player not playing may have caused the other 52 men on the roster to lose out on a Super Bowl ring.
Patriots legend Matthew Slater on the benching of Malcolm Butler in the Super Bowl:
Per: @DakRandall
“As players, I know we all felt strongly that Malcolm should’ve been out there. But that’s not our call. And, at the end of the day, we trust our coach.
… Seeing how the… pic.twitter.com/BVePRCnAZ5
— Savage (@SavageSports_) March 9, 2024
Owner Robert Kraft spoke on what may have led up to this whole fiasco in an episode of the 2024 Apple TV series, "The Dynasty."
"What has been told to me is that there was something personal going on between Bill and Malcolm that was not football related," Kraft said.
Bill Belichick failed to put emotion aside for the sake of the team in his decision to bench Malcom Butler during Super Bowl LII, says Robert Kraft in "The Dynasty" documentary. pic.twitter.com/H0K1VW06EJ
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) March 16, 2024
Although Belichick has received much of the blame for the benching, considering no one really knew what the reasoning was behind the decision, it's up for debate as to whose fault it really was.
As some believe Belichick may be withholding information, in regards to the details of why Butler was disciplined. And in doing so, he may not be wanting to throw the one-time Super Bowl 49 hero under the bus.
In view of what was said to the media about Butler sitting out, head coach Belichick and defensive coordinator Matt Patricia both went on record saying it was a "football decision" and not a "disciplinary decision."
"We put the players out there and the game plan out there that we thought would be the best tonight, like we always do," Belichick said following the loss.
However, this answer didn't make sense, as Butler was a key contributor to the team's stout defense.
To point out, he hadn't missed more than 23 snaps the whole entire year, so the All-Pro cornerback missing all 73 snaps in Super Bowl LII is certainly puzzling.
After the game, Butler told reporters, "They gave up on me. F***. It is what it is."
The long debated question is: if Butler played, would Eagles quarterback Nick Foles have thrown for 350+ yards and three touchdowns?
Well Butler himself believes the Patriots would have won if he was in the game, which means the team, that also won in 2017 (Super Bowl LI) and 2019 (Super Bowl LIII), could have three-peated if they were victorious in Super Bowl LII.
Former New England Patriot and SB Champion Malcolm Butler (@Mac_BZ) with @G_Kuhn71 on if he played in SB 52:
“Tom Brady would have 8 rings”
— 929ESPN (@929espn) February 5, 2025
Ultimately, Butler will always be remembered as a Patriots legend for making arguably the greatest play in Super Bowl history during his rookie season.
To put in perspective how fortunate Butler was even to be put in that position, he was undrafted out of a DII school and was listed as the last cornerback on the Patriots depth chart that year.
At a practice prior to the season starting, Belichick addressed Butler in front of the whole team.
"In fact, there's a player here from West Alabama who might be the best undrafted free agent I've had in my coaching career."
The defensive backs coach who discovered Butler, Josh Boyer, actually recalled what went through his head towards the end of the fourth quarter in Super Bowl XLIX.
"Man, we just put an undrafted rookie into the biggest game of the year."
Incredible on field view of Malcolm Butlers Super Bowl 49 interception. 🤯
(Video: BSalSportsGuy/YT) pic.twitter.com/2AjLfkYS8l
— Thomas Carrieri (@Thomas_Carrieri) November 3, 2023
THROWBACK: The Malcom Butler Super Bowl goal line interception was all just Bill Belichick’s coaching genius.
🤯🤯🤯
This video shows the pure genius that Belichick is on the football field
pic.twitter.com/4nbW3qrJhX— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) June 11, 2024
And as for Super Bowl 52, Belichick and Butler seemed to have buried the hatchet.
"I probably wouldn't be where I am today... if it wasn't for this man," Butler wrote on Instagram under a photo of himself and Belichick after the eight-time Super Bowl winning coach announced his retirement after the 2023-24 season.
"This man made me a man..... people wanted me to bash him because of our history... but I'm built different."
Malcolm Butler on Bill Belichick. 👀😂 pic.twitter.com/FXGn1rKGVs
— Savage (@SavageSports_) January 12, 2024
As for if Butler will ever divulge the exact details, of what went on behind the scenes prior to Super Bowl LII, he may take it to the grave.
"When me and Bill Belichick see each other, we smile and we hug each other," Butler told Yahoo Sports. "If you want to ask him, call him. That's one thing you're not going to get out of me."
