Khalen Saunders – WIU Football Star & Two-Time NFL Super Bowl Champion
Khalen Saunders finished the 2018 WIU Leatherneck Football season as a two-time All-American (Associated Press and STATS FCS) as well as a First All-Missouri Valley Football Conference selection. He capped his senior slate third on WIU‘s roster with 72 tackles – 13 for a loss, which ranked fifth in the MVFC – and concluded his career ranked sixth all-time in sacks.
Picked in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft, Khalen Saunders won two Super Bowls with the Kansas City Chiefs (2020 and 2023) and had a huge impact on their organization as defensive tackle. He was the first Leatherneck to be drafted by the Chiefs since Jack Atcheson in 1960.
In March of 2023 the former Western Illinois University football star signed a three-year, $14.5 million contract with the New Orleans Saints to further his National Football League (NFL) career.