America loves its celebrity couples, and that extends to pro athletes as well. Last year, Travis Kelce’s budding relationship with Taylor Swift made as many headlines as Kelce’s Kansas City Chiefs going for their second straight Super Bowl championship.
Kelce is not the only NFL star hooking up with a star in the entertainment realm. With that in mind, BetCalifornia – where we await legal California sports betting – was curious how NFL players perform after their relationship with a celeb goes public. In addition, we tracked how the players perform after they get married and have their first child – the latter two categories are not just tied to celebrity girlfriends or spouses.
Using the approximate value player stat at Pro-Football-Reference.com, we calculated the average value the season before each situation, the average value after each situation, and calculated the difference for each situation, with 11 players “Dating a Celebrity,” 14 “Getting Married” and 12 “Welcoming First Child.”
NFL Players Value Change: Dating A Celebrity
Avg. Value Before | Avg. Value After | Difference |
6.3 | 8.3 | +2.0 |
Besides Kelce and Swift, other NFL-celeb couples include Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen and actress and singer Hailee Steinfeld and Miami Dolphins wide receiver Braxton Berrios and social media influencer Alix Earle.
Does dating a celebrity give players a boost? Maybe, but not always. For example, Kelce had an AV of 8 last season, but the tight end was coming off a 12 AV season in 2023. It also should be noted that Kelce, who turns 35 next month, is among the oldest players in the NFL.
NFL Players Value Change: Getting Married
Avg. Value Before | Avg. Value After | Difference |
10.9 | 11.1 | +0.2 |
It appears that players returning from their honeymoons end up playing a little better, too.
Among the NFL players married to celebs: Pittsburgh Steelers QB Russell Wilson (to singer Ciara); San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey (to former Miss Universe Olivia Culpo) and Chicago Bears safety Jonathan Owens (to Olympic gold medal gymnast Simone Biles).
Again, this stat isn’t just for players marrying celebs, so we’ll be keeping track of how 49ers QB Brock Purdy plays this season. He married Jenna Brandt, who played volleyball at Iowa State, where Purdy played in college. We hope the happy couple will soon be able to celebrate a new contract for Purdy, who earns less than $1 million per year after being drafted with the last pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.
NFL Players Value Change: Welcoming First Child
Avg. Value Before | Avg. Value After | Difference |
14.3 | 8.0 | -6.3 |
It’s probably not surprising that NFL players’ production declines after they have their first kid. Yes, they’re probably older – remember, the average length of an NFL player’s career is less than 3.5 years – and parents can attest that raising a newborn is hard work around the clock.
This year, two Cincinnati Bengals players and their wives welcomed their first daughters on the same day at the same hospital. Linebacker Logan Wilson’s wife, Morgan, gave birth to Kambry James Wilson, and kicker Evan McPherson’s wife, Gracie, gave birth to Merritt Hayes McPherson.
BetCalifornia.com is your source for the latest sports and gaming news coming out of the Golden State. Speaking of families, check out our Siblings Day celebration story.
USA Today photo by Kyle Terada
