Football season is underway and we’re turning our attention to the cheering section: See who’s the reigning MVP of your favorite NFL quarterback’s heart.
Are you ready for some romance?
With football season in full swing, it’s all well and good to be keeping track of passing yards, completion rates and interceptions. But while you’re waiting all day for Sunday night (plus all those other days and times), you should probably also brush up on dating reports, wedding plans and family stats that NFL quarterbacks have compiled in their private lives.
And while those numbers may not affect your fantasy ranking, there’s always a chance that the team a QB has behind him off the field will find its way into the game in some form or another, even if it just means his cheering section is extra loud. (Plus, so often it’s the partners of the QBs who end up on offense when the fans come for the players after a loss.)
“I truly mean this when I say, I think if I didn’t have Brittany,” Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes recently told CBS News of the high school sweetheart he married last year, “I wouldn’t be in the position I am now.”
And that position, incidentally, is reigning league and Super Bowl MVP, so helmets off to Brittany Mahomes.
But while their winning partnership is one of the more well-documented among the megastar-athlete set—having two scene-stealing kids will do that to a couple—that leaves a lot of QBs left for the picking (so to speak).
And we were happy to tackle everything you need to know about the love lives of NFL quarterbacks right here:
Christian Thompson/Disneyland Resort via Getty Images
Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
What’s better than winning a Super Bowl? Why, since you asked, it’s winning two—and getting to make the requisite trips to Disneyland afterward with the love of your life.
“I was not prepared for this,” Brittany Mahomes told CBS News in July of the whirlwind of accolades and excitement that came with falling for QB1 at her high school in Whitehouse, Texas. “And at such a young age. We were in love and I loved him with all of my heart. But, you know, I didn’t expect it to skyrocket this soon, and us kind of just being thrown into the fire like this.”
Patrick proposed at Arrowhead Stadium on Sept. 1, 2020, the day the Chiefs were presented with their Super Bowl LIV rings, and they tied the knot March 12, 2022.
The athlete told CBS that being dad to daughter Sterling Skye, 2, and Patrick “Bronze” Lavone Mahomes III, 22 months, gave him “a much better understanding of being present and enjoying” the game of football.
“When my kids grow up,” he explained, “I wanted them to see that dad wasn’t just gone just to be gone. I was gone doing something, to build, to be great. And so, whenever they get older, they can see how hard I worked.”
Instagram / Olivia Holzmacher
Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals
Joe met Olivia Holzmacher in 2017 at Ohio State—and he didn’t drop the ball once he transferred to Lousiana State, where he won a national championship and the Heisman trophy with the Tigers in 2020.
When he went No. 1 to the Bengals in the NFL draft, Olivia wrote, “Thankful to be by your side Joe … so excited for what the future holds.”
Still together and having triumphed over the long-distance dating that has sacked so many other couples, sky’s the limit for these two—whether or not they’re engaged like former Bengal Adam “Pacman” Jones recently declared but showed no receipts.
Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic
Jared Goff, Detroit Lions
The lowkey Lion is engaged to model Christen Harper, Sport Illustrated Swimsuit’s co-Rookie of the Year in 2022 and a star of the web series Women of the League.
“I swore that he messaged me first,” Christen told Fox News Digital of meeting her future fiancé on the dating app Raya in 2018. “But when we went and looked back, I actually sent the first message. So all you ladies out there, you better send the first message because you never know—you gotta shoot your shot.”
While the co-founder of the wellness app Planted is a permanent fixture on the sidelines rooting for No. 16, Christen called Jared “just the best cheerleader” when it came to her goals as well. “It’s so fun because I get to cheer him on for his football season,” she said. “But he is the number one supporter, the number one person that’s just in my court.”
instagram (@kbstafford89)
Matt Stafford, Los Angeles Rams
After 12 seasons leading the Lions’ offense, the team swapped quarterbacks with the Rams in 2021, meaning longtime Bloomfield Hills, Mich., residents Matt and Kelly Stafford were off to L.A.—where he promptly won a Super Bowl in his first season with his new team.
And it turned out he had a secret weapon in the pocket with him: Yes, it was his wife’s unflagging support.
Kelly shared on TODAY after the Rams’ win that she wrote her husband letters before every game leading up to the big one in February 2022. “It was just how much I thought he truly deserved this, and why I thought he deserved it,” she said. “The most important thing at the end of the day is that we all have each other.”
Married since April 4, 2015, the Staffords are parents to four daughters, 6-year-old twins Chandler and Sawyer, 5-year-old Hunter Hope and 3-year-old Tyler Hall.
Getty Images
Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills
If Hailee Steinfeld still likes a man with true grit, she could do worse than the Bills’ two-time Pro Bowl selection.
Josh may be a quiet, “no comment” kind of fella when it comes to his dating life—”The fact anybody cares about that still blows my mind,” he said on Pardon My Take—but he seems to be a swell boyfriend.
He and Hailee vacationed in Mexico in July and she was spotted at a Bills home game vs. the Raiders Sept. 17.
Instagram (@heathercarr4)
Derick Carr, New Orleans Saints
Who dat? Why, it’s Heather Carr, recent NOLA transplant after her husband of 11 years signed with the Saints in 2023 following nine seasons with the Oakland-turned-Las Vegas Raiders.
They were students at Fresno State when they met, Derick trying his darndest to get a cute waitress’ attention.
“I was just like ‘Ugh, I don’t want anything to do with that,'” Heather recalled to Fresno’s ABC 30. “The typical football guy, right?”
But when she purposely gave him a wrong phone number, he came back to the restaurant to give her his digits—and tell her that, when she was ready, he’d pick up the phone. A few weeks later, she found out Derick wasn’t so typical.
“Some days he comes home, he’s quiet, he’s tired,” she reflected of her star QB. “Just making sure he always knows that I’m here to encourage him, support him, do I need to do anything for you.”
When it was time to move across the country, she stocked up on Saints gear in all sizes for sons Dallas, 10, Deker, 7, and Deakon, 4, and daughter Brooklyn, who turns 3 in November.
Instagram (dangerrusswilson)
Russell Wilson, Denver Broncos
Speaking of planting roots in a new town, Ciara has revealed that Future Jr., 9, Sienna, 6, and Win, 3, have a little sibling on the way.
And though the world is their mile-high oyster, the couple who wed in a castle in 2016 keep their eye on the real prize.
“He and I share the same vision for our babies, which I think makes the world of a difference, that we’re on the same page,” Ciara told Sports Illustrated in 2022 of partnering-for-life with Russ in love, parenting and philanthropy. “It’s important that our kids—you know, they have way more access than we had growing up—so we want to make sure we keep them humble in the process to make sure they do things like having to pick up after themselves and knowing that life isn’t going to be handed to you.”
But they’re still living the dream. As Russell told GQ, “Every day I come home from work and it’s late at night. It’s after film and practice and all that, and me and Ciara are together, and we just smile from ear-to-ear in the kitchen because we realize that our family is a beautiful blended family but it’s also, you know, our family. It’s us.”
Instagram (kirkcousins)
Kirk Cousins, Minnesota Vikings
Sure, offensive lines are great, but it’s Julie Hampton Cousins who really has Kirk’s back.
The elementary school teacher “thrives in the work of supporting” her husband of nine years, she told People. “I love hosting people for games, cooking and planning snacks and meals. I also enjoy organizing all kinds of stuff for Kirk off the field, like his bodywork, making sure we all get good sleep and that we’re getting in quality time with our boys. It’s a very unique job, but I’m very happy to be in it.”
And while at 35 Kirk is closer to the end of his career than the beginning, he said he’d love to play until sons Turner, 4, and Cooper, who’ll be 6 on Sept. 29, can “really remember it and will have enjoyed being a part of it.”
Instagram (marissa_lawrence)
Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars
Marissa Lawrence has been cheering her husband on since their Cartersville High School days in Georgia—and their photo album includes memories of every milestone, from their senior prom to their April 10, 2021, wedding day to Trevor going No. 1 to the Jaguars just weeks later and many tropical vacations since.
“Every year gets sweeter with you @marissa_lawrence,” Trevor wrote on their anniversary in 2023. “2 years down already and we’ve made so many memories and experienced so much together. Excited for all the years to come. I love you more than you know.”
Instagram/(sophiescott9)
Mac Jones, New England Patriots
Sophie Scott is always showing up at Gillette Stadium for him, so it’s only fair he show up there for her.
College sweethearts at Alabama, the couple made the move to Boston together when Mac was drafted by the Patriots in 2021.
Instagram (jennabrandt3)
Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers
The 262nd pick in the 2022 NFL draft was never Mr. Irrelevant to Jenna Brandt.
And while the 49ers have another sort of bauble in mind, Brock put a ring on it before the 2023 season kicked off.
“My Jenna girl forever,” the 23-year-old starter captioned their engagement pics on Instagram.
Instagram (@emilywmayfield)
Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
He’s becoming a bit of a journeyman, but Baker has been making sure to touch down regularly in paradise with wife Emily Wilkinson Mayfield.
Baker, a Heisman winner with the University of Oklahoma, met Emily in 2017 and proposed six months later, so she’s been there for all of the ups and downs in his professional career (and hilarious State Farm commercials) since he went No. 1 in the 2018 NFL draft.
And the fairer half of the Baker & Emily Mayfield Foundation is certainly in it for the long haul.
“Happy 4 year anniversary to my sweet husband,” Emily posted to Instagram on July 10. “These last few years we have grown in so many ways, and I am SO proud of where we are in our marriage.”
Instagram (@kennypickett8)
Kenny Pickett, Pittsburgh Steelers
The only quarterback selected in the first round of the 2022 NFL draft reported for training camp in 2023 a married man, swapping vows with former Princeton soccer player Amy Paternoster on June 24.
The couple, who started dating in 2021, honeymooned in Puerto Rico.
On Amy’s 22nd 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡day Feb. 13, Kenny posted to Instagram, “Extremely grateful for you every day and spending the rest of my life with you will be the greatest honor I could ask for.”
Instagram (@annahtagovailoa)
Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins
After his fifth-year option was picked up by the Dolphins in March 2023, Tua admitted to reporters that he considered retiring after his injury-marred 2022 season.
And not least because he had so many wonderful things to stay home for.
“Never one to put my private life out there. But this one deserved a post,” Tua wrote on July 17, sharing a one-time-only snap of his love Annah Tagovailoa. “Happy 1 Year Anniversary to my beautiful wife. I love you.”
In a rare peek into his off-the-field world, Tua told reporters last November that he was thankful for his wife and new 𝑏𝑎𝑏𝑦 (who made his public debut at the Tua Foundation luau benefit in April).
“It’s very unique how having a 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 impacts how you see things differently in life. It’s like nothing that I’ve experienced,” Tua said. “There’s no playbook for this because everyone’s experience is different, whether you’re having a boy first or a girl.”
That being said, he added, “I thank my heavenly Father up above that I got a boy first. Oh, man. I don’t know what I’d do if I had a girl. It’d be a little harder, I think, because I wouldn’t know what to do necessarily.”
Instagram (@rtannehill17)
Ryan Tannehill, Tennessee Titans
2012 was a banner year for the Texas A&M alum: He wed college sweetheart Lauren in January and went No. 8 in the NFL draft that April.
After spending the first seven years of their marriage in Miami, they headed to Nashville in 2019 with son Steel and daughter Stella, now 7 and 5.
“There’s hard stuff that comes with every life,” Lauren said in an interview for the Titans’ YouTube channel, “but I looked at this as a really fun opportunity to live in Nashville and see what this community is about. It has been so rich for us.”
The former model also quickly teamed up with the Titans Women’s Association to start giving back in her new home—and for the unique camaraderie, of course.
“There’s parts of our life that only we understand,” Lauren said. “I think that’s important for everybody in the world to have that, to lean on each other.”
