Joe Burrow has made it a habit that after big wins, he’s going to smoke up a cigar.
The now-Bengals quarterback first drew attention to his post-game celebration after his Tigers won a national championship. He lit up another after Cincinnati won the AFC North. He enjoyed another after the AFC Championship.
His celebratory smokes have become an iconic part of his successful runs through college and pro football.
Why does he smoke them, and what kind of cigars does he enjoy? Take a look:
Joe Burrow’s LSU cigar
Burrow had one of the greatest seasons in college football history. In his redshirt senior season at LSU, he set FBS records for the most touchdown passes (60), total touchdowns (65), total offensive yards (6,039) and points responsible for (392). He was the Heisman Trophy winner, and capped off the campaign with a national championship win against Clemson.
When Burrow claimed that title, he lit up a cigar in the locker room that quickly became one of the most recognizable parts of the championship.
Get The Nat pic.twitter.com/1udC79q6cc
— LSU Football (@LSUfootball) January 14, 2020
Burrow later told the Cincinnati Enquirer about the photo of him sitting on the couch smoking a cigar. He said that the cigars came from the son of Basketball Hall of Famer Karl Malone, K.J. Malone, who was an assistant strength coach for the Tigers. K.J. Malone, Burrow explained, was passing the cigars out to the players when the QB was asked to speak to the media.
“So he was passing them out to everybody, and mine was about halfway gone when they said it’s time to do media, and I didn’t really want to give up,” Burrow said. “So then we went into the little loading area before the press conference, and that’s where that picture was taken on a couch right in the little waiting area to go out on stage.”
“That was my first cigar I ever smoked.”
The former LSU quarterback explained that it was the first cigar he had ever smoked, and that he decided it was time to make it a tradition “just for special occasions” in an interview with NBC Sports’ Chris Simms.
“So I figured when I win a championship, whether it’s our division championship or a Super Bowl or a national championship, I think we should smoke some cigars now. I think we just made it a thing,” Burrow said.
Cigars with the Bengals
There wasn’t quite as much cause for celebration during Burrow’s first season with the Bengals. He was injured in his 10th game and needed surgery to repair a torn ACL and MCL in his knee.
But his return in his second season has given Cincinnati the spark this franchise has needed. He passed for 4,611 passing yards in the regular season with 34 touchdowns, 14 interceptions and a league-best 70.4 completion percentage.
This season, there has been more of an occasion to enjoy a cigar. The first time came when the Bengals won the AFC North.
Bengals QB Joe Burrow smoking a cigar and getting the gat after winning the AFC North: pic.twitter.com/NoVYzjIYjG
— Ben Baby (@Ben_Baby) January 2, 2022
He has kept the tradition alive since then. There were no cigars after wild-card and divisional round wins against the Raiders and Titans, respectively, but he was back to lighting one up after the Bengals took down the Chiefs 27-24 in the AFC Championship to punch their ticket to Super Bowl 56.
This time, even Burrow’s dad and Ja’Marr Chase’s dad joined in the cigar celebration.
Ja’Marr Chase and Joe Burrow’s fathers celebrated the AFC Championship by smoking cigars 😂🤝 pic.twitter.com/I3C9bq1NgV
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 31, 2022
What kind of cigar does Joe Burrow smoke?
The cigar market is wide-ranging, and Burrow is clearly not too picky. Burrow told Simms he doesn’t really know any brands of cigars, and that he just smokes whatever he’s handed.
Burrow’s cigar after the LSU title game was from La Aurora. The cigars in particular was a custom cigar made in partnership with the company and Karl Malone.
According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, his division winning smoke was a La Flor Dominicana Mysterio cigar.
Burrow’s Super Bowl plan
The Bengals are making their third appearance in a Super Bowl and their first in 33 years. They are among only 12 teams in NFL history to have never won it. You can best believe that if Burrow leads the Bengals to a Super Bowl victory that he’ll be lighting up a stogie.
“Every time I win some kind of title I’m gonna smoke a cigar… So hopefully I can smoke another one next Sunday.”
Will he have a chance to light up another cigar on Sunday?
