The Super Bowl was played Sunday. For many, that means the start of the baseball season unofficially began Monday.

But before we are quick to file away Pittsburgh’s exciting, last-minute 27-23 win over Arizona, there was a significant baseball angle to this year’s Super Bowl that may not have occurred to anyone but the most ardent fans of the baseball draft.

In all, there were four players in Sunday’s Super Bowl who had previously been selected in the baseball draft. There were also three or four more players—notably Steelers quarterback Ben Rothlisberger and strong safety Troy Polamalu—who were significant baseball talents in high school but weren’t drafted because of their ties to football, and never did play baseball in college.

Here’s a quick thumbnail on the four Super Bowlers with baseball prominently on their resumes:

Dennis Dixon, qb, Pittsburgh

Dixon was a fifth-round pick of the Braves in 2007, even though he hadn't played baseball to speak of since being drafted in the 20^th round by the Reds out of a Northern California high school four years earlier. A QB at Oregon, a school which at the time he was drafted by the Braves didn't even have a baseball program (it does now), Dixon signed with the Braves for a slot bonus of $137,700 and played 28 games at the Rookie-league level in 2007, hitting .176 with seven RBIs and five stolen bases. But he decided to cast his lot with football when the Steelers picked him in the fifth round (12 spots higher than the Braves had selected him) of the 2008 NFL draft. The same speed and arm strength that have been the strengths of Dixon’s game on the gridiron were what tempted the Braves to make an ill-fated run at him.

Mewelde Moore, rb, Steelers

A fourth-round pick of San Diego in the 2000 baseball draft out of a Louisiana high school, Moore signed with the Padres for $250,000 and played three seasons in the organization, hitting .210-1-12 in 50 minor-league games, none above Rookie ball. He was also enrolled in college at Tulane at the time and not only played football there but became just the second player in NCAA history to accumulate 4,000 yards rushing and 2,000 yards receiving in his career. Just like in baseball four years earlier, Moore became a fourth-round pick in the NFL draft (Minnesota Vikings, 2004) and pursued that sport exclusively from that point on.

Hines Ward, wr, Pittsburgh

At a time when baseball teams were free to draft as many players as they desired, Ward was selected in the 73^rd round of the 1994 baseball draft by the Marlins out of a Georgia high school. He did not play baseball during his college football career at Georgia. The Marlins, incidentally, selected three QBs in '94 that later played in the NFL—Ward, Josh Booty and Glenn Foley.

Matt Ware, wr, Arizona

Ware signed with the Mariners as a 21^st-round pick in 2001 out of a California high school, and played a couple of years in the organization, hitting .294-0-2 in 14 games overall in Rookie ball. He also played football concurrently at UCLA and eventually gave up baseball in favor of football, although scouts said he definitely had the talent to play in the big leagues if he had ever given baseball a full shot.