Winning route: Bobo relishes Super Bowl glory with Seattle

Had Jake Bobo’s life gone in a different direction, he might have spent the days after Super Bowl LX commiserating with friends and family over the New England Patriots’ 29-13 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

But Bobo, who lived with his family in Acton when he attended Belmont Hill School, was on the winning team in Santa Clara. 

The 27-year-old wide receiver finished his third season in the NFL, all with the Seahawks, the way every football player dreams of — as a member of a champion Super Bowl team.

“Obviously, I’m very excited to be here,” Bobo said in a phone interview on February 10, less than 48 hours after the game. “We’re back in Seattle now, getting ready for the parade.”

Pre-game injury 

Bobo didn’t have any receptions in the championship game, but he did play a season-high 16 snaps. 

“I wasn’t as productive as I would have liked as far as making catches goes,” Bobo said. “I had a lot of other things to do, running routes, blocking.”

Bobo played in the Super Bowl with a broken hand that he sustained in the NFC championship game on January 25. Bobo caught a 17-yard touchdown pass as the Seahawks defeated the Los Angeles Rams, 31-27.

“The hand feels good now,” he said. “The training staff did a good job, and I had surgery right after the game. Then I had two weeks to recover.”

The win over the Rams set up the showdown with the Patriots. As someone who spent much of his youth in Massachusetts — first in North Andover, later in Acton, with some time in Arkansas, as well — Bobo grew up following the Patriots. 

Smack talk

Many of his friends and former teammates let him know their allegiances were with the hometown team.

“I still talk to a bunch of guys with Belmont Hill, the Brooks School, and my youth team in Lawrence,” Bobo said. “My buddies did talk some smack.”

As the most-watched sporting event in the United States, the Super Bowl and all the festivities around it make it more than just another football game. On the field, though, Bobo approached it the same way he would any other gridiron matchup.

“The buildup is different,” he said. “Once it starts, however, it’s just another ballgame.”

After his college career at Duke University and UCLA, Bobo signed as an undrafted free agent with the Seahawks in 2023. In 45 regular-season games, he’s caught 34 passes for 232 yards and three touchdowns.

Now that the Super Bowl and the ensuing celebrations are over, Bobo is getting back to business, preparing for the next season. 

“I’m a restricted free agent,” he said. “I’m not sure exactly what that means, but I’ll leave that to my agent. I’d love to be back in Seattle.”