Many NFL teams have their own ritual as they walk up the tunnel and onto the field. For the 49ers, a large boombox is perched on the shoulders of Nick "DJ Kray" Kray, signaling that San Francisco is coming.
On Wednesday during Super Bowl LVII's Radio Row in Phoenix, Ariz., 49ers star Deebo Samuel shared how the idea to carry a boisterous boombox to the field surfaced and how the team decides which tunes to hype themselves up to on the way to the field.
"It came about in 2019 when we played the [New Orleans] Saints," Samuel told FOX Sports Radio's Doug Gottlieb on Wednesday. "Roddy Rich had dropped a song, 'The Box,' and we were vibing with that that year.
"So we start the season off with a song, and if we lose, we change the song. If we're winning, the song stays the same until something bad happens."
Samuel added that during the 49ers' 12-game winning streak in the 2022 NFL season, the song they kept playing was NBA Young Boys' "Won't Step on Me."
In an appearance on Pro Football Talk on Wednesday, Samuel explained to Mike Florio and Chris Simms that 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan does not get in the way of what the players want to do to hype themselves up before a game.
San Francisco 49ers
"We don't have to go to Kyle about that stuff -- he'll just let us do it," Samuel told Florio and Simms. "He's a player-first-type of coach and if we feel like that's just how we vibe, he'll just let us go with the flow."
Speaking with Pat McAfee on "The Pat McAfee Show," the 27-year-old shared that he and Trent Williams pick the song and there often is no pushback on what song is chosen.
(Warning: Contains NFSW language)
While the boombox entrance is a sight to behold during the season, San Francisco will have to find a replacement for Kray as he was hired to join former 49ers defensive coordinator and new coach of the Texans, DeMeco Ryans, in Houston.
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Whoever the next boombox DJ is, Samuel and Williams will be sure to have a hand in curating the playlist for the 2023 NFL season.