Cornell Powell just completed a football trifecta no one else ever has

Cornell Powell can lay claim to an interesting slice of history, one that's entirely his own.

With a championship win this weekend in the United Football League, Powell became the first player ever to win a CFB national championship, a Super Bowl, and a UFL title. It’s a unique trifecta that gives Powell bragging rights and a rare perspective on winning cultures on multiple levels.

Powell’s path began at Clemson, where he was a part of a powerhouse program that brought home national titles in both 2016 and 2018. Despite spending most of those early years buried on the depth chart (behind the likes of Tee Higgins, Mike Williams, and Hunter Renfrow), he slowly climbed the ladder and finally broke out in 2020

The Kansas City Chiefs took a keen interest in Powell as a late-bloomer in college who had 882 receiving yards and 7 touchdowns as a redshirt senior. His development into a productive receiver earned him a fifth-round selection in the 2021 NFL Draft.

The former Chiefs company is truly in rare company when it comes to winning.

The pro transition was challenging for Powell, who spent nearly all of his time with the Chiefs on the team's practice squad. He never logged a regular-season reception despite being with the team through the majority of the 2024 campaign—nearly the length of his entire rookie deal.

Still, he was a part of the Chiefs organization across four seasons and was there to collect two Super Bowl rings during the franchise's back-to-back Super Bowl wins.

After the Chiefs released Powell last winter, he resurfaced in this spring with the D.C. Defenders of the UFL. It was in the nation's capital that Powell not only found consistent playing time but thrived in it, leading the league in touchdown receptions with seven and emerging as a consistent offensive weapon.

In the UFL Championship against the Michigan Panthers, Powell added another score—his eighth of the season—on a 19-yard reception to help seal a dominant 58–34 win for the Defenders. With that win, Powell’s resume now includes five impressive titles: two national championships at Clemson, two Super Bowl victories with Kansas City, and a UFL crown with D.C.