Justin Herbert took some heat last week when video surfaced of him at training camp with fiancée Madison Beer. Herbert and Beer were sitting on the grass, generally looking like a young couple in love, which would have been fine if they were at the park, but this just wasn’t the kind of thing serious quarterbacks do at practice.
And then Joe Burrow was spotted at Bengals training camp with his girlfriend, Olivia Ponton. And then Jaxson Dart’s girlfriend, Marissa Ayers, showed up at Giants practice. This was the second time this summer she showed up when Dart was doing football stuff.
If you’re wondering what in the WAG is going on here, you’re not alone. And you’re also not wrong to think there’s something going on because somehow the NFL is behind this. Whatever this actually is.
League sanctioned canoodling
According to Front Office Sports, the “viral canoodling-at-camp videos are part of a larger content campaign.” The NFL told FOS that they are looking for “authentic opportunities to highlight our players and the people who are part of their journey.”
The reason? It has “resonated strongly with women and young fans.” Basically, they’re looking to recreate the Taylor Swift effect on every team by promoting players’ personal lives. That’s why when Herbert and Beer got engaged last month, the NFL posted pictures on X.
Matthew Stafford also has a family
It’s an odd thing for the league to focus on. Not that it doesn’t make sense, but because it’s the kind of thing that already happens organically. The only thing that has been unusual was the fact that star quarterbacks have brought their girlfriends to training camp. This is the kind of thing we usually only see courtside at basketball games.
What exactly will this mean for the season? More shots of wives and girlfriends in the stands? More families on the field before the game, like the Stafford family? Wait a second… Have they been in on it the entire time?
MORE: Madison Beer flexes $1M engagement ring on red carpet after viral Justin Herbert moment
What should we even believe anymore? Is a heartwarming moment less heartwarming when the NFL is encouraging it because they want to attract a younger audience? Tune in this football season to find out.
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