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SUPER BOWL
Super Bowl XLIX

Marshawn Lynch can speak loudly with big Super Bowl

Lindsay H. Jones
USA TODAY Sports
Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch (24) at press conference at Arizona Grand in advance of Super Bowl XLIX.

PHOENIX – No matter what Marshawn Lynch does after kickoff of Sunday's Super Bowl, the Seattle Seahawks running back is already one of the biggest winners of Super Bowl week.

Through three days of highly-publicized non-interviews, Lynch grew his brand and further established himself as one of the league's most interesting individuals.

He's worn his Beast Mode logo on a hat in each of his three high-profile media sessions – pending fine from the NFL be damned; his goofy video segments with Conan O'Brien and Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski went viral; and there was just enough talk about how his bruising running style could help the Seahawks topple the New England Patriots.

So just imagine how much bigger his profile could be should Lynch tear up the Patriots' defense? What if he unleashes on his signature Beast Mode runs?

A big day – especially an MVP-caliber day – would only increase Lynch's earning power. Lynch could strut out of University of Phoenix Stadium into a world of unlimited possibilities, in and out of football.

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Lynch remains under contract with the Seahawks for one more year, and the Seahawks' chances to remain the top team in the NFC improve dramatically with him on the roster. He's a special player – the type of running back who will wear down defenses quarter by quarter, week after week – and one that won't be easily replaced in Seattle's offense, whenever it is that Lynch decides to leave football.

Offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell told USA TODAY Sports earlier this week that hated to think about what his offense might look like without Lynch in it.

"I can imagine, I don't want to imagine," Bevell said. "I know how important that position is and what they set up and bring to your offense and he's probably one of the best I've been around."

Lynch isn't like most NFL players. It's hard to picture Lynch playing for years just for the sake of playing. His world already includes so much more than the NFL – so much so that when he failed to show up for the start of training camp before this season, his position coach Sherman Smith wouldn't have been surprised if Lynch was retiring.

"I think he'd go into business," Sherman said. "He's got his Beast Mode business, so he's got that stuff that he's doing; he loves being active in the community, and he is great with kids. I mean, you see him with kids, and he's great with kids. I see him going into coaching a little bit. He could do a lot of things."

But the thing the Seahawks certainly want him to do is to keep playing football. And to keep doing it in Seattle. A huge performance in the Super Bowl would only reinforce that.

"The team is going to do what it has to do to keep him around," Smith said. "And I think Marshawn wants to come back. If he wants to play football, I don't think he'll be happier anywhere else than in Seattle."

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