Miami Dolphins legend and Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino is taking a humorous spin for being ring-less leading into the big game.
The nine-time Pro Bowl quarterback and 1984 NFL MVP is partnering with M&M’s for a Super Bowl LVIII commercial that sees Marino along with other all-time greats – former Buffalo Bills rival Bruce Smith and Terrell Owens – poke fun at themselves for coming up short of a Super Bowl ring during their big game appearances.
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The ad will feature rings called “Almost Champions Rings of Comfort,” which features 14K gold rings made with real diamonds from real peanut butter M&M candies.
The 30-second ad will debut during the Super Bowl on February 11 and will air during the first commercial break in the first quarter.
“The commercial was a lot of fun to do with Bruce and T.O. (Terrell Owens) and just all the people from M&M,” said Marino in a one-on-one interview. “It was great. Everybody’s going to love the commercial because we’re making a little bit of fun over the fact that we didn’t win Super Bowl rings.”
Marino goes into further detail about the premise of the commercial, featuring fellow Super Bowl runner-ups Bruce Smith and Terrell Owens.
“They’re making rings for “Almost Champions,” explains Marino. “It’s M&M’s, peanut butter with diamonds that were made in the lab and it’s going to be great. It’s something I’m looking forward to just being in a Super Bowl commercial and being with a great company like M&M’s.
Marino – who is widely considered to be the greatest quarterback to never win a ring – discussed why he was comfortable with poking fun at his own lack of championship hardware.
“After all these years, you have to understand that you can make fun of yourself,” explained Marino. “When I think back, yes, I wish I would have won a Super Bowl. There’s no doubt. It comes back to me a lot, especially this time of the year when guys are playing to get into the Super Bowl. But I realized I did everything you could do, in the Hall of Fame and all that other stuff.”
The Dolphins great further explains why he’s able to have a good time making fun of himself during Super Bowl commercial.
“I never won,” says Marino in reference to a Super Bowl. “But at the same time, I feel good about what I did in my career and you just have to accept it and understand that’s what it is. And that’s why we’re having some fun with this.”
When Marino retired after the 1999 season, he held all of the major passing records – career passing touchdowns, yards and completions along with single-season records in the first two categories.
While those numbers have since been surpassed as the NFL has changed rules that have greatly benefited quarterbacks and wide receivers, Marino’s legacy is still well intact. Marino held the single season touchdowns record (48) for 20 years before Peyton Manning broke it in 2004. It only took three years for Tom Brady to surpass the record before Manning broke it again six years later with 55 touchdown passes.
Marino – who was well-known for his confident demeanor during his playing career – opened up on how many touchdown passes he believes he could throw for in a single season with how the rules are currently constructed.
“The good part is, I don’t have to prove it,” said Marino while smiling. “But I feel like I would do some real damage and I’ll just say 60. It would be tough, because of the athletes out there and the way the game is, but I feel I can do some damage if I was in this era right now.”
Marino achieved great success early on in his NFL career. He set rookie records in 1983 – passer rating and lowest percentage of passes intercepted – while leading the Dolphins to a 12-4 record and a postseason berth.
He followed that up with a Super Bowl appearance in 1984 – the only one of his career – and his record-breaking touchdown season.
Marino then turned in a 12-4 campaign and AFC Championship Game appearance in 1985 while handing the future Super Bowl champion Chicago Bears their only loss of the season.
Tua Tagovailoa, who is the Dolphins’ current franchise quarterback, has also had tremendous success early on in his career. Although Tagovailoa hasn’t led Miami to a Super Bowl the way Marino did, he’s already led the league in passing yards and passer rating and has been a winning quarterback since entering the league in 2020, going 32-19 as a starter without a losing record in a single season.
However, he has yet to get over the hump of leading the Dolphins to a playoff win. Tagovailoa lost his first career playoff start against the Patrick Mahomes-led Kansas City Chiefs and was vastly outplayed in Miami’s final three games of the season. That losing streak included losses to the Lamar Jackson-led Baltimore Ravens and Josh Allen-led Buffalo Bills.
Despite those shortcomings and question marks surrounding Tagovailoa’s future in Miami as he enters the final year of his contract, Marino still believes in the 25-year-old quarterback.
“He was outstanding,” Marino said of Tagovailoa’s 2023 season. “He’s statistically winning games and he’s continuing to grow. I think he is a quarterback that can get to, and win a Super Bowl.”
Marino cites injuries and a “tough stretch” as reasons why the Dolphins struggled towards the end of the season, when they went winless during a three-game stretch with the No. 1 seed within grasp entering Week 17.
“It’s one of those things at the end of the year, we just ran into a tough stretch there with injuries and who we were playing,” explains Marino. “It made it tough on us. I actually think that we’re growing as a team and continuing to grow. He’s in position to do well in his career, for sure.”
Part of the reason the Dolphins can’t seem to get over the hump – they haven’t won a playoff game since 2000, the year after Marino retired – are their struggles against the Bills. Miami has lost 11 of their past 12 games against Buffalo, with Tagovailoa defeating the Bills just once during his career.
Marino – who had his fair share of battles with the early 90’s Bills as they advanced to four consecutive Super Bowls – explained how the Dolphins can overcome their chief rivals.
“Learn from the losses we’ve had and learn from the wins we’ve had,” says Marino. “Once again, we’ve had some injuries that were a part of that. But the Bills are someone we’re going to have to deal with since they’re in the division. You just have to learn how to win and beat those guys.”
And as far as who he believes will be playing in the Super Bowl when his new commercial debuts, Marino believes it’ll be the Detroit Lions – led by former Dolphins interim head coach Dan Campbell – and the Baltimore Ravens playing in the big game, with the Ravens coming out on top.
“I think the way the Ravens are playing, they’re going to be hard to beat,” Marino predicts.