NEED TO KNOW
Malcolm Butler is a two-time Super Bowl winner
The retired cornerback is looking forward to Super Bowl LX as the New England Patriots face off against the Seattle Seahawks
Butler tells PEOPLE that every player needs to "prepare like he's gonna play"
Malcolm Butler knows how to win a Super Bowl. Specifically, the former New England Patriots cornerback knows how to win a Super Bowl against the Seattle Seahawks.
Ahead of Sunday's bigrematch in Super Bowl LX,the retired NFL player, 35, shares his best advice for players going into the game.
"They should know what happened the last time," Butler tells PEOPLE. "We went down there and won a nail-biter."
In 2015, when these two teams faced off inSuper Bowl XLIX, Butler had a game-sealing interception that shocked the world and is still regarded as one of the craziest plays on football's biggest stage. However, Butler warns that it might be used as extra motivation for the Seahawks.
"This has been on some fans' minds for a long time, but the other team didn't get the best ending," Butler shares. "So you know they're going to come in hot and ready to redeem themselves from Super Bowl 49."
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Butler says that "each and every player gotta play this game like it's the last one because it is, and you can't go back and change the game."
"It's notMadden, this is real life, and any player that doesn't think he's gonna play, he needs to prepare like he's gonna play. They need to practice and be in the film room, competing against other guys who are starting," he says. "If you are a starter or not, just compete; everybody going hard makes the team better."
Butler, who was an undrafted rookie, knows this better than anyone.
"To be honest, I didn't think I was going to play [in the Super Bowl], but I always practiced hard like I was gonna play," he says.
The athlete tells PEOPLE hemessed up the very same game-winning playin practice just days before the game. Despite not knowing if he was going to see the field, he took time to correct the mistake, which changed the course of the game — and potentially his career.
After winning Super Bowl XLIX, Butler stayed on and played four seasons with the Patriots, making it to Super Bowl LI in 2017 and winning another ring against the Atlanta Falcons. He then played three seasons with the Tennessee Titans before retiring from football in 2024.
"You're only gonna be a football player for a certain amount of time, and you're going to be yourself forever. As long as you are doing right and improving and being yourself, everything should be okay," Butler shares. "I think I had a great career. I got paid financially, left the game with my health and everything else. I think I had a great career and made one of the best plays in Super Bowl history."
Butler now hosts theMalcolm Butler Football Camp, which provides free football lessons and coaching for kids in Mississippi, serving over 3,300 kids in the last 11 years.
The Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots areset for a rematch in Super Bowl LXon Feb. 8.
Read the original article onPeople
