KANNAPOLIS — The NFL announced on Tuesday that A.L. Brown graduate Mike Morton will be part of the officiating crew for the upcoming Super Bowl.
Morton, 52, will make history as the first Super Bowl winner to also officiate in a Super Bowl. He will be the umpire.
Morton was one of the standouts for A.L. Brown’s 1989 state championship team as a tight end/linebacker before starring for the UNC Tar Heels at linebacker.
He was a fourth round draft pick in 1995 by the Oakland Raiders and carved out a seven-year NFL career.
He started quite a few games for the Raiders in 1996 and 1997 before settling into a role as a backup linebacker who made his biggest impact on special teams.
Morton played his first four seasons for the Raiders. He played the 1999 season with the St. Louis Rams and made a tackle in the 2000 Super Bowl played in Atlanta. The Rams beat the Tennessee Titans 23-16.
Morton played for the Green Bay Packers and Indianapolis Colts in his last two seasons.
Morton will be the second person to play in a Super Bowl and also officiate in one. Terry Killens, a linebacker who played for the losing Titans against the Rams in the 2000 Super Bowl, was a Super Bowl official last season.
Morton, who became a dentist in Kannapolis after retiring as a football player, is in his third season as an NFL official.
Ron Torbert, a 15-year veteran of NFL officiating, will be the referee leading the crew. The game will be played in New Orleans on Feb. 9.