The Best Players to Never Win a Super Bowl

John Madden once famously said, as I recall, at the end of one Super Bowl: "There is no greater difference in sports than winning or losing a Super Bowl."

It is the one major professional sports championship in America that rides on one game. Never coming through is a mark against your legacy, no matter the position you play. 

Ask Dan Marino.

Bleacher Report breaks down the top 25 best players to never win a Super Bowl. It is quite a list of Hall of Famers and should be ever-evolving. It might even differ from person to person. Here is our (subjective) list, focusing on Hall of Famers, stat hogs and players with some unforgettable, yet regrettable, Super Bowl memories.

Four franchises have never even been to the Super Bowl: the Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, Houston Texans and Jacksonville Jaguars. Two teams have been four times and lost all of those: the Minnesota Vikings and the Buffalo Bills, who infamously lost four in row. The Arizona Cardinals, Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, San Diego Chargers Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans, Cincinnati Bengals and Philadelphia Eagles are all among the 13 teams to never win a Super Bowl, too.

These franchises might be devoid of a championship but not great players. You will see many of those unfortunate teams represented throughout this slideshow.

The Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots will be playing for all those marbles Sunday. Many of their players have experienced the big-game pressure, but some still haven't won. We even have a couple of stars going into Sunday's game who would love to become disqualified from this top 25.

As for the aforementioned Marino, he doesn't even "win" here. He appears, certainly, but we have a different leader of this dubious distinction. Check it out from No. 25 to No. 1...

For argument's sake, we leave out the players who did not play in the Super Bowl era. Therefore, you will not see Cleveland Browns running back Jim Brown in our list.

Can't Win for Losing: Those Who Didn't Make the Cut...

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There is a group of players we looked at for our list who managed to be the losers of the losers, albeit great Hall of Fame-caliber players. Here are the best of those who missed our top 25 players to never win a Super Bowl, broken down by position:

Quarterbacks

You can make a well-reasoned case for Dan Fouts to have made our top 25, but the four quarterbacks we chose over him had more legendary failures to win the Big One. Fouts was a quarterback before his time, racking up huge passing totals, but he never even made a Super Bowl. Also, his career touchdown-to-interception ratio (254-242) should have us questioning his true greatness versus others.

We have four quarterbacks in our top 25—a high percentage for a position manned by one guy—but here are the top three we considered who just missed the cut:

1. Dan Fouts, San Diego Chargers
2. Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers
3. Andrew Luck, Indianapolis Colts

Running Backs

This is one position we skimped on a bit, admittedly, especially in relation to quarterback. Just three made our top 25. There are a slew of worthy candidates, but here are the top five we tried to make cases for but couldn't squeeze in:

1. LaDainian Tomlinson, San Diego Chargers/New York Jets
2. RB/KR Gale Sayers, Chicago Bears
3. Thurman Thomas, Buffalo Bills/Miami Dolphins
4. O.J. Simpson, Buffalo Bills/San Francisco 49ers
5. Curtis Martin, New England Patriots/New York Jets

It should be noted Priest Holmes was on the Baltimore Ravens roster in Super Bowl XXXV as the backup running back to Jamal Lewis.

Wide Receivers

This is a position that will grow and grow, as the passing numbers have made for plenty of huge numbers for us. We have just two wide receivers in our top 25, and one of them can be debated for his inclusion. We really wanted to get a Seattle Seahawks player in the list.

Here are the top five wideouts who didn't make our cut:

1. Terrell Owens, San Francisco 49ers/Philadelphia Eagles/Dallas Cowboys/Buffalo Bills/Cincinnati Bengals
2. Tim Brown, Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders
3. Andre Reed, Buffalo Bills
4. Cris Carter, Philadelphia Eagles/Minnesota Vikings
5. James Lofton, Green Bay Packers/Buffalo Bills

Honorable mentions: Charley Taylor, Washington Redskins; Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona Cardinals; Calvin Johnson, Detroit Lions; Andre Johnson, Houston Texans; Steve Smith, Carolina Panthers/Baltimore Ravens

Tight Ends

You will definitely want to debate one of the tight ends we included, but we like the fact we have active players in our list who are still playing this season. Here are the top five who didn't make it:

1. Antonio Gates, San Diego Chargers
2. Ozzie Newsome, Cleveland Browns
3. Kellen Winslow Sr., San Diego Chargers
4. Jackie Smith, St. Louis Cardinals/Dallas Cowboys
5. Jason Witten, Dallas Cowboys

Offensive Linemen

There are five spots on the offensive line, so there is a bit of a ratio problem, but the collection of tackles, guards and centers in our list totals six, the highest number for any position group in our top 25. Here are the top five who just missed our list:

1. C Jim Otto, Oakland Raiders
2. OT Dan Dierdorf, St. Louis Cardinals
3. G Randall McDaniel, Minnesota Vikings/Tampa Bay Buccaneers
4. G Mike Munchak, Houston Oilers
5. OT Ron Yary, Minnesota Vikings/Los Angeles Rams

Defensive Linemen

This is another well-represented position in our top 25, with four players. Only offensive line had more, although quarterbacks had the same number. Here are the ones we considered before dropping them to the also-rans:

1. DE J.J. Watt, Houston Texans
2. DE Jack Youngblood, Los Angeles Rams
3. DE Carl Eller, Minnesota Vikings
4. DE Lee Roy Selmon, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
5. DT John Randle, Minnesota Vikings/Seattle Seahawks

Honorable mention: DE/OLB Chris Doleman, Minnesota Vikings/Atlanta Falcons/San Francisco 49ers

Linebackers

This is a position of legends, but for some reason we were short on nominating them to our top 25, perhaps because many of the best ones willed their teams to Super Bowl titles. We did have three linebackers make our top 25, but they generally were not high on the list, and we didn't have much problem cutting this trio either:

1. MLB Brian Urlacher, Chicago Bears
2. OLB Kevin Greene, Los Angeles Rams/Pittsburgh Steelers/Carolina Panthers/San Francisco 49ers
3. OLB Andre Tippett, New England Patriots

Defensive Backs

This is easily the most under-represented position in our top 25, with just one player who happens to be still active in the NFL and this season. Again, like wide receivers, the modern pass-happy game will make this list of unfortunate losers larger as time passes (pun intended).

Here are five defensive backs we considered among the best players to never have won a Super Bowl:

1. CB Aeneas Williams, Phoenix/Arizona Cardinals/St. Louis Rams
2. CB Champ Bailey, Washington Redskins/Denver Broncos
3. S Paul Krause, Washington Redskins/Minnesota Vikings
4. DB Ken Houston, Washington Redskins/Houston Oilers
5. S Larry Wilson, St. Louis Cardinals

Honorable mention: CB Jimmy Johnson, San Francisco 49ers

You have some names to add to these lists? Hit us with those oversights in the message board below. It should make for some fun debates, especially if you readers are old enough to appreciate NFL history and the historic losers.

25. C Dwight Stephenson, Miami Dolphins

MARTY LEDERHANDLER/Associated Press

You will notice some players are tied together in their Super Bowl championship futility. Stephenson was Dan Marino's center for many years and the starting center in the 1982, 1984 and 1985 AFC championship games and in Super Bowls XVII and XIX, per his bio at the official website for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He entered the Hall of Fame in 1998.

24. OL John Hannah, New England Patriots

Ted Gartland/Associated Press

He's the first New England Patriot on our list, but not the only one. Hannah has the distinction of being on two of the NFL's All-Decade teams for the '70s and '80s, per the Pro Football Hall of Fame's official website. After losing the blowout to the 1985 Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XX, Hannah retired. Talk about going out with a painful loss.

23. WR Steve Largent, Seattle Seahawks

GARY STEWART/Associated Press

We wanted to be sure to have a Seattle Seahawks player represented, and no player is more representative of the franchise than Largent, who never played in a Super Bowl. He never played for a great team or quarterback either, but he retired with the following six major career pass-receiving records, per the Pro Football Hall of Fame's official website:

1. Most receptions—819
2. Most consecutive games with a reception—177
3. Most yards on receptions—13,089
4. Most touchdowns on receptions—100
5. Most seasons with 50 or more receptions—10
6. Most seasons with 1,000 yards or more on receptions—eight

22. QB Jim Kelly, Buffalo Bills

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You knew we had to have some Buffalo Bills, notorious losers of four consecutive Super Bowls in the '90s. Jim Kelly was the figurehead of the team, leading the long-suffering Bills franchise to the playoffs in eight of his 11 seasons. Sure, his career lacked in longevity, but he made up for it with impact, being the only quarterback to lead his team to four consecutive Super Bowls.

21. LB Junior Seau, San Diego Chargers/New England Patriots

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We debated including Seau in this top 25. After all, he is not yet in the NFL Hall of Fame—although that should change soon, if not this Saturday. His best shot at winning a Super Bowl came near the end of his career with the New England Patriots, who infamously ruined an unbeaten season in the final game to the New York Giants.

20. QB Warren Moon, Houston Oilers (and Three Other Teams)

Bill Kostroun/Associated Press

Moon is a statistical marvel. If he had won a Super Bowl, or even played in one, he might be considered among the best quarterbacks to ever play the game. He should be, regardless, but we all know how that goes. Moon never even played in an AFC or NFC championship game, despite playing for four different franchises and throwing for almost 50,000 yards and 300 touchdowns.

19. G Joe DeLamielleure, Buffalo Bills/Cleveland Browns

HC/Associated Press

O.J. Simpson did not make our list of best players to never win a Super Bowl, but we couldn't shut the Electric Company out entirely. We give the nod here to Hall of Fame Buffalo Bills guard Joe DeLamielleure, our second of six offensive linemen. He played in 185 consecutive games and six consecutive Pro Bowls, per his bio at the Pro Football Hall of Fame's official website. It is no coincidence Simpson rushed for more than 2,000 yards in DeLamielleure's first season.

18. OL Bruce Matthews, Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans

Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

Some Super Bowl losses are more painful than others. Matthews' Titans came up one yard short against the St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXIV. That only marginally stains the career of a remarkable 14-time Pro Bowl selection. He was picked every year from 1989 through 2002.

17. DT Merlin Olsen, Los Angeles Rams

Anonymous/Associated Press

This name is more famous to most of us because of his broadcast career, but Olsen was also one of the greatest defensive tackles to ever play the game. A member of the "Fearsome Foursome," Olsen lost three consecutive NFC championship games from 1974 to 1976. While getting shut out of the Super Bowl, Olsen made 14 consecutive Pro Bowls, just like Bruce Matthews from the preceding slide.

16. RB Eric Dickerson, Los Angeles Rams/Indianapolis Colts

Anonymous/Associated Press

Dickerson still holds one of the most hallowed records in professional sports: most rushing yards in a single season (2,105 in 1984). He never made it to the Super Bowl, though. His lone NFC Championship Game? It was as a loser to the famed 1985 Chicago Bears and their 4-6 defense.

15. CB Darrelle Revis, New England Patriots

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You might want to debate the inclusion of Revis here, but he is going to go down as one of the greatest cover corners to play the game and will have done it in the most pass-happy of eras. The only question is how his career will hold up in his latter years. He still has work to do on his Hall of Fame credentials, perhaps, and this Sunday's Super Bowl could go down as a clincher.

14. QB Fran Tarkenton, Minnesota Vikings/New York Giants

HC/Associated Press

Tarkenton was another quarterback before his time, like Dan Fouts, but for a different reason. Tarkenton was the original scrambling man. He was also a famed Super Bowl loser, experiencing defeat three times in four years from 1973 to 1976. Tarkenton has just one touchdown to six interceptions in his Super Bowls, per Pro Football Reference—numbers that belie his Hall of Fame credentials.

13. RB Earl Campbell, Houston Oilers/New Orleans Saints

Anonymous/Associated Press

Campbell might not be in anyone's top three, five or perhaps even 10 running backs all time, but he rates highly here. He was the original Beast Mode, delivering a painful-looking blow with each carry. His first four seasons were legendary, and he just missed the Super Bowl in the first two, losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers dynasty in 1978 and '79 in the AFC Championship Game. The beatings he took and gave out might have shortened his career, but he sure was fun to watch.

12. OT Jackie Slater, Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams

Mark Duncan/Associated Press

As we said in a previous slide, there are connections between players throughout our list. In this case, Slater is attached to running back Eric Dickerson. He started in five NFC championship games, losing four, and lost Super Bowl XIV to the Pittsburgh Steelers, a team that stripped many from championship hopes in the '70s. He retired tied for the third-most games played, per his Pro Football Hall of Fame capsule.

11. DT Alan Page, Minnesota Vikings/Chicago Bears

Anonymous/Associated Press

The Vikings lost four Super Bowls in the '70s, but they would have never been in those without Page and the "Purple People Eaters." Page was selected to nine straight Pro Bowls and did not miss a game in his career. Defensive tackles don't get a lot of credit and don't put up gaudy numbers, but Page was as good as they came at the position. His team just came up short in the final game four times and once in the NFC Championship Game.

10. DE Deacon Jones, Los Angeles Rams/San Diego Chargers/Washington Redskins

Uncredited/Associated Press

Jones was not only another great defender with Merlin Olsen in the Rams' "Fearsome Foursome," but he was arguably the most intimidating defensive player of all time. He is credited with inventing the sack, according to his Pro Football Hall of Fame bio. Not only did he fail to reach a Super Bowl, but his teams never even made it to a conference championship. That is a darn shame.

9. TE Rob Gronkowski, New England Patriots

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Many will disagree with the fact we rank Rob Gronkowski in this list at all, much less in the top 10, but he is a freak of nature who can set the standard for his position going forward. The debate of his appearance on this list could be solved with a victory Sunday, too, mind you. It's not a coincidence the Patriots have reached the Super Bowl in each of the two dominant seasons he has put together.

8. OLB Derrick Thomas, Kansas City Chiefs

CLIFF SCHIAPPA/Associated Press

Thomas, whose career was cut short by an automobile accident that left him paralyzed and ultimately led to his death, was one of the most feared defenders of his time. That was a time that came on the heels of Lawrence Taylor's career, too. Thomas took the torch from L.T. and carried it to nine consecutive Pro Bowls and 126.5 sacks. He played in just one AFC championship, losing to the Buffalo Bills during their four-year run of Super Bowl losses.

7. TE Tony Gonzalez, Kansas City Chiefs/Atlanta Falcons

Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

Gonzalez retired this past year as arguably the most dominant player in NFL history at his position. He was very good over a long period of time, but his teams had an awful record in postseason play (1-6)...if they even made it. Gonzalez's Falcons were beaten by the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship Game three seasons ago; it was the closest the 14-time Pro Bowl tight end would get to a championship.

6. LB Dick Butkus, Chicago Bears

Associated Press

Butkus was the "Monster of the Midway." The eight-time Pro Bowl middle linebacker defined the position in his era and beyond, but he never played in a Super Bowl or even an NFC championship. A knee injury cut his career short, but he goes down as the second-greatest defensive player to never win a Super Bowl in our rankings.

5. LT Anthony Munoz, Cincinnati Bengals

Reinke/Associated Press

Munoz is arguably the greatest offensive lineman in history, appearing on the NFL's 75th Anniversary All-Time Team in 1994 and the All-Time NFL Team chosen in 2000 by the Hall of Fame Selection Committee, per the Pro Football Hall of Fame's official website. Munoz and his Bengals did have two chances in the Super Bowl, only to have their hearts cut out by Joe Montana and the San Francisco 49ers both times, the second in the closing minute of Super Bowl XXIII.

4. DE Bruce Smith, Buffalo Bills/Washington Redskins

Kevin Higley/Associated Press

Smith, the No. 1 overall pick of the 1985 draft, is still the NFL's all-time sack leader, retiring with 200 and earning himself the dubious honor of being our greatest defensive player to never have won a Super Bowl. You had to figure some Bills would be prominent on this list, since they lost four consecutive Super Bowls in the early '90s.

3. WR Randy Moss, Minnesota Vikings (and Four Other Teams)

Gene Puskar/Associated Press

Moss is arguably the most traveled player on this list. Statistically, he is Jerry Rice without the championships. Unlike Rice, Moss had to deal with a number of quarterbacks (and teams) throughout his career. Moss suffered some legendary postseason defeats, but none stings more than Super Bowl XLII, when the undefeated New England Patriots fell to the New York Giants. You might also forget that Moss' last NFL game was the San Francisco 49ers' Super Bowl XLVII loss to the Baltimore Ravens.

2. QB Dan Marino, Miami Dolphins

Associated Press

Marino, famously, figured his Super Bowl XIX appearance in his second NFL season wasn't going to be his only one. That 1984 season by Marino was one for the ages (5,084 passing yards and 48 touchdowns), but it was also his last Super Bowl hurrah. Marino would only play in two other AFC championships, losing to the New England Patriots in 1985 and the Buffalo Bills in 1992.

You cannot put Marino in the class of Super Bowl-winning greats like Joe Montana, Johnny Unitas or even Peyton Manning, Drew Brees and Tom Brady, but you have to believe—as we do—that he is the greatest quarterback to never have won a Super Bowl. That will have to be enough for him.

1. RB Barry Sanders, Detroit Lions

DUANE BURLESON/Associated Press

Sanders left the game suddenly after his 10th year (1999), at the height of his stardom and just two seasons from rushing for 2,053 yards. He remains the only running back in history to rush for 1,000 yards his first 10 seasons, per the Pro Football Hall of Fame's official website.

He is also our pick for the greatest player to have never won a Super Bowl.

Sanders might have given himself, and the woeful Lions, a chance to win one if he had stuck around, and that might be the most disappointing fact of all. He also might have finished as the NFL's all-time rushing leader, but he had no desire to catch Walter Payton (16,726 yards) or compete with current leader Emmitt Smith (18,355), like he had during the entire decade of the '90s.

Sanders did play in one NFC championship in 1991 against the Washington Redskins, but he never would get back again, mostly because of the team around him.

Dan Marino or Sanders, argue as you wish, but no one forced people watching him—and those defending him—to hold their breath like Sanders when he had the ball in his hands.

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Eric Mack, one of the giants among fantasy writers, is the Fantasy Football Lead Writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter, where you can ask him endless questions about your team, rip him for his content and even challenge him to a head-to-head fantasy game.