Sam Darnold’s Family: Raised By a Medical Gas Plumber and Volleyball Player, Seahawks QB Eyes Super Bowl
Jan 3, 2026; Santa Clara, California, USA; Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (14) reacts after the game at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Neville E. Guard-Imagn ImagesTriston Drew CookThu, February 5, 2026 at 2:11 AM UTC·2 min readIt’s not often that an NFL journeyman is able to turn his career around by guiding the fifth franchise of his career to a Super Bowl, and it’s even more rare for them to be the descendant of one of the biggest stars in the history of American advertising. Nevertheless, the Seattle Seahawks Sam Darnold has somehow managed to do both, and it’s made for quite the story.
The internet has learned a lot about the 28-year-old QB throughout the buildup to his championship debut at Super Bowl LX, and during his 1-on-1 interview with Jason Garrett of NFL on NBC, Darnold even admitted that he had failed to realize “how great he had it” while growing up.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“To have such a great family, to have such a great upbringing, I was around people every single day that loved and cared for me. But it was also, nothing was ever given. I had to work super hard for anything. My parents made sure that it was always that way, with me and my sister.”
Once his days of college football had come to an end, Darnold’s father worked as a medical gas plumber, while his mother played volleyball prior to becoming a teacher. Simply put, they were never too far removed from the stereotypical life that most Americans find themselves living nowadays, but when it comes to his grandfather, however, well, that’s a completely different story.
Sam Darnold remembers his grandfather, Dick Hammer
If you’ve ever studied American history, then you’re likely aware of just how much influence the tobacco industry has had throughout the nation’s 250 years of existence. One of the most recognizable brands to ever come out of the industry was Marlboro, a company that was equally responsible for one of the most influential advertising campaigns of the mid- to late-1900s, the Marlboro Men.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThanks to his incredibly rugged look and defined jaw line, as well as the fact that he was named Dick Hammer, Darnold’s grandfather proved to be exactly what the company was looking for when starting their campaign, and as a result, he was given the honor of being one of the original Marlboro Men. “He’s such a legend in our family,” Darnold mentioned.
“He’s becoming a legend even outside of our family now, but yea, from what I’ve heard, he’s just an all-time person. He had a ton of accolades. Marlboro Man, he was the captain of the firefighting squad in L.A., he was an Olympian, and he even played basketball as well… But I think, more than all that, he was just a great person. Great father, great grandfather to me and all my cousins.”
Simply put, there’s no need to wonder where Darnold got his first-round pedigree from. He may have been a bit of a late bloomer in the NFL, but he’s now managing to build his own impressive resume.
For as many titles as his grandfather may have held, however, no one in the family has yet to bring home a Lombardi trophy, so barring an absolute catastrophe on Sunday night, it seems as if Darnold is finally set to become a household legend in his own right.
The post Sam Darnold’s Family: Raised By a Medical Gas Plumber and Volleyball Player, Seahawks QB Eyes Super Bowl appeared first on The SportsRush.
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