Super Bowl “stress” is nothing new for Katya Suh, who has cheered on her husband, former All-Pro defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, in three championship contests across his career, including the Eagles’ 38-35 loss to the Chiefs in 2023.
With the couple eagerly awaiting Sunday’s highly anticipated rematch in Super Bowl 2025 in New Orleans, Katya will experience a “different” kind of stress as she and Suh, 38, embrace new game-day roles.
“This is my first Super Bowl where my husband isn’t playing, so I think the stress is different. It’s more of the stress of wanting friends to be celebrated,” Katya told The Post on Monday in a joint interview with Suh, who will be commentating as part of Sky Sports’ broadcasting team.
“… I’m excited to just kind of be able to enjoy the fun and the celebration of Super Bowl, which I think when you have your spouse playing, you’re approaching the game very differently.”
Katya, who shares 3-year-old twin sons Kingston and Khari with Suh, her husband of nearly five years, is supporting Philadelphia in the big game.
She and Jennifer Slay, the wife of Eagles cornerback Darius Slay, are still “really close” following Suh’s time with the team in 2022.
“Jennifer Slay and the Slay family, we’re really close. Jen is one of my best friends,” Katya said. “… It’s one of those things where we definitely stay in touch and are still close. Some of the other ladies [from the Eagles] and I, we still follow one another on social media, supporting and encouraging each other in that regard, so it’ll be nice to see some familiar faces.”
Much like Jennifer and Katya, Slay and Suh are “still close,” as they originally forged a bond in Detroit where their careers overlapped during the 2013 and 2014 seasons.
Slay was traded to the Eagles in March 2020, while Suh signed a one-year deal with Philadelphia in November 2022.
Though he’ll be supporting former Eagles teammates on Sunday, an “impartial” Suh wants to see a compeтιтive matchup.
“I’m hoping we can have a good game, to say the least, but then, obviously, we’ll see who can come up victorious cause either way, it’s going to be something special,” said Suh, who first joined Sky Sports’ NFL coverage in 2023.
“I think everyone’s also rooting for [Eagles running back] Saquon Barkley and the magical season that he’s had, but on the flip side, you look at [Chiefs quarterback Patrick] Mahomes and [тιԍнт end] Travis Kelce and that defense and [defensive tackle] Chris Jones and all those guys, to be able to do a three-peat that’s something special, it’s making history. I love being part of history, I was able to create history against the Kansas City Chiefs, being the first team to ever win at home, so, it’s a tough situation to be in as a true NFL sports fan.”
The No. 2 overall pick out of Nebraska in the 2010 NFL Draft, Suh began his career with the Lions before joining the Dolphins in 2015.
He reached the Super Bowl for the first time in February 2019 as a member of the Rams, with Los Angeles ultimately losing to New England in Atlanta.
Two years later, Suh hoisted the Lombardi Trophy for the first time when he, Tom Brady and the Buccaneers defeated the Chiefs in Super Bowl 2021 at their home Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, becoming the first team to ever play and win the championship contest on their own turf.
And while Suh and Katya have experienced all of the emotions that come with Super Bowl triumph and heartache, the memories made at all three contests are moments the family will forever cherish.
“Being able to win the Super Bowl but the experience of being at your first Super Bowl [with] L.A. was beyond amazing,” Suh said.
“… To not only have her family there, my entire family there, it was something special and something you can never recreate. … The Tampa one is super special, not only because of the win but being able to set yourself in the books that nobody can ever take away from you, you’re the first team to ever win it at home which is a fete in itself.”
Super Bowl 2023 in Arizona was particularly meaningful for the Suhs, whose sons watched the big game in person for the first time.
“Being able to have our boys be there and be present and see daddy on the field and still have those fun videos and memories, even if they were too young to remember, years later, we’ll have the pH๏τos and videos to refer back to and able to have that,” said Katya, who gave birth two months after the Buccaneers’ Super Bowl win in 2021.
Now looking to create even more memories in New Orleans, Katya — who opened Kaya, a community-driven cocktail bar in Portland last year — will be sending “great energy” the Slays’ way while supporting her husband, who will be taking in the NFL action away from the field.
And, perhaps, indulge in a rare game-day drink.
“I’m going to have a cocktail, I don’t normally do that when he plays, so I will have a cocktail and eat some food,” Katya said with a laugh.
Super Bowl 2025 gets underway at 6:30 p.m. ET on Sunday at Caesars Superdome.
