New England Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler was benched due to a coach's decision to begin Super Bowl LII against the Philadelphia Eagles, NBC's Al Michaels revealed on the broadcast.
Butler was relegated to special teams duty while Eric Rowe started in his absence.
"I made the decisions that give us the best chance to win," Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said when asked about Butler's status at halftime, according to Mike Reiss of ESPN.
The Patriots cornerback appeared to be emotional on the sidelines during the national anthem.
Philadelphia jumped out to a 15-3 lead in Butler's absence.