Chiefs’ ring ceremony had fashion, red carpet — and former players bragging about KC

Members of the Buffalo Bills, Houston Texans and Washington Commanders were welcomed at the Chiefs’ Super Bowl LVIII championship ring ceremony on Thursday at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.

“These are the guys I went to war with,” wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling said. “These are my brothers.”

After two seasons in Kansas City, Valdes-Scantling signed a one-year deal with the AFC rival Bills and was among the handful of former Chiefs to celebrate the stirring run of four playoff triumphs, capped by the 25-22 overtime conquest of the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl.

Players like Valdes-Scantling, punter Tommy Townsend, offensive guard Nick Allegretti, safety Mike Edwards, cornerback L’Jarius Sneed, linebacker Willie Gay Jr. and tight end Blake Bell left their mark on the franchise’s second straight Super Bowl title.

The red carpet occasion served as a final hurrah for the 2023 squad, a chance for the departed players to hang out with Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, Chris Jones, coaches and administrators. There was the White House visit a couple of weeks ago, and now this.

“This is one of the best moments that you have in your life,” said Edwards, also with the Bills. ”It’s like the last time I’ll ever see these guys as a collective whole, so I can’t miss out on the opportunity.”

A “final goodbye to Kansas City,” Allegretti called it. His most productive time in a Chiefs uniform came in the final two games, when he stepped in for an injured Joe Thuney in the AFC Championship Game victory over the Baltimore Ravens and the Super Bowl.

The final flourish paved the way for a three-year, $16 million contract with the Commanders and a likely starting role.

“That’s all I wanted throughout my career,” Allegretti said. “The Super Bowl success, team-wise, was awesome. Selfishly, you want that chance to be a Day 1 starter. And that’s what I’m in D.C. to do.”

Townsend, now with the Texans, said he recalled wondering during last year’s ring ceremony if being on another team would prevent a player from this celebration.

“I couldn’t come up with a single reason why,” Townsend said. “And who wants an excuse to miss a ring ceremony? Winning a Super Bowl is something very few people get to experience. I’m trying to soak up as much as can with my former teammates before I go on the next step.”

Most of the departed Chiefs left with multiple rings and bring a championship pedigree and approach to their new locker rooms. Allegretti tore his ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in the second quarter against the 49ers and didn’t miss a snap in the game.

That’s what it meant to be a member of the Chiefs.

“I think you really have to care about football, which is probably the biggest thing I learned in my time in Kansas City,” Allegretti said. “If you want to win, you’ve got to really care. And there are truly a lot of guys in this league and teams that don’t fully care about everything that they’re doing.

“And Kansas City did. That’s what we’re trying to develop in D.C.”

Edwards has told a similar story in Buffalo.

“I was only here for a year, but I tell everybody — even the guys in Buffalo — I tell them, ‘Man, these guys are family,’” Edwards said. “Everybody — top to bottom, offense-defense, no matter who it is — they took me in as family. So I’ll definitely remember most about just the brotherhood and how close we were and how they took me in and everything. It was a great group of guys.”

Sam McDowell contributed to this story.