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Super Bowl 50

Go inside Super Bowl's most exclusive party

Laken Litman
USA TODAY Sports

ATHERTON, Calif.— Before walking into Jillian Manus’ four-acre estate on Super Bowl Eve, guests stopped by the pop-up pool in the front yard to grab kisses from two live seals.

The "Big Game Big Give" was held at Jillian Manus' estate in Atherton, Calif.

The seals did tricks and posed for photos with hundreds of guests who paid $3,000 a ticket to attend the “Big Game Big Give” event at venture capitalist and philanthropist Jillian Manus’ spectacular home in the Silicon Valley.

“I might jump in and swim with the seals,” four-time Super Bowl winning quarterback Joe Montana joked upon arrival.

Really?

“No, but I might bark at them,” he said.

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Welcome to the Super Bowl’s most exclusive party.

Manus — who looked elegant and glamorous in a white, floor-length gown — is a legendary hostess in the Bay Area and co-hosted the most fabulous party with Montana and former San Francisco Giants slugger Matt Williams on Saturday night. Jay Leno was the emcee.

Celebrities and athletes mixed, including Philadelphia Eagles running back DeMarco Murray, California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Joe Montana aims for big charity haul with exclusive experience

Guests dined on braised short rib dumplings with horseradish sauce, lamb burger sliders, tuna tartar and mini desserts such as rose-infused French macarons. Michael Franti gave a live acoustic performance.

The party was luxurious and intimate. Guests mingled throughout various decorated rooms, each with a California theme. There was a Napa room with grape vines hanging from the ceiling. The Rodeo Drive room draped in white curtains contained jewelry cases laced with diamond necklaces that cost upward of $200,000. There was a beach-themed room and on the way in guests could snag a Hog Island Sweetwater Oyster as they listened to a Beach Boys cover band.

Silent auction items were impressive. Bidding to attend the 2016 Monaco Grand Prix with the Ultimate VIP Package started at $41,500, while a week-long stay at Richard Branson’s private Australian Island for 10 started at $86,500.

Montana gave guests the opportunity to be on the opposite end of “The Catch” for a donation of $50,000 — which also included Super Bowl 50 tickets and a signed football. They had to catch the Hall of Famer’s pass first, however.

All money raised goes to the Stanford Cancer Institute, the Four Rings Montana Family Foundation and the Giving Back Fund.

The goal was to raise $1 million.

USA TODAY was one of the party’s sponsors.

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