When Bengals Hall of Famer gifted Joe Burrow an iconic present ahead of Super Bowl LVI: "I wouldn’t do this for just anyone"

By Rob Gullo

Modified Feb 03, 2025 18:56 GMT

Joe Burrow, left, Anthony Munoz, right Getty

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow has become a fan favorite and is a well-respected quarterback across the league. In his second season in the NFL, he helped the Bengals become AFC champions and took them to the Super Bowl.

Before their Super Bowl LVI matchup against the Los Angeles Rams, former Bengals offensive lineman and Hall of Famer Anthony Munoz gifted Burrow cigars.

After Burrow won the 2019 national championship with the LSU Tigers, a viral video surfaced on the internet of him smoking a cigar.

Munoz opened up on "The Rich Eisen Show" in 2023 about gifting Burrow cigars:

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"Hopefully they are enjoying the cigars that I supplied him right before ... And I gotta admit, Rich, I wouldn’t do this for just anyone. I text Joe and he was busy. I said, 'Okay, I’m gonna drive.' And I live like 20 minutes from the stadium. I actually drove to the stadium, dropped them off at security forum and said, 'Make sure Joe gets these.'" [08:20]

The Bengals and Burrow eventually fell 23-20 to the Rams in the Super Bowl.

Joe Burrow and the Bengals will look to make it back to the postseason in 2025

Joe Burrow during Cincinnati Bengals v Pittsburgh Steelers - Source: Getty

Joe Burrow has been in the NFL since the 2020 season. In his five seasons, Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals have only been to the playoffs twice.

Burrow led them to a Super Bowl run in his second season in the NFL during the 2021-22 season and appeared in the AFC championship game a season later.

Last season, Burrow played 10 games before his season was cut short with a hand injury. He went 5-5 with the Bengals missing the playoffs. This season, after a slow start, the Bengals finished the year 9-8 and just missed the postseason.

The Bengals, being in a competitive AFC North division, will look to break their streak of two straight seasons of missing the playoffs.

The Bengals next season will face the Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens two times each.

They will also face: