Does anyone even watch football anymore? I keep up with the players, for the most part; the infamous pregame outfit assemblies are interesting and the faces of football are definitely easy on the eyes. However, most of my attention is dedicated to the WAGs: the Wives and Girlfriends of the NFL Players. Yes, it’s actually a thing!
NFL Wives and Girlfriends are not new, but the phenomenon surrounding them is. Their lifestyle has become a culture of its own, with customized game day attire flaunting their partner’s name and number, lavish WAGs celebrations and luncheons, and a close-knit circle of newfound sisters. There are high school sweetheart WAGs, college lover WAGs, celebrity WAGS (cue fangirl behavior over Ciara and Russell Wilson), WAGs that prefer to stay away from the cameras…the variety is wide, but the goal is defined: These glamorously dedicated women all want to support their man during a busy and exhausting pro-season.
Even if you’ve never heard of the term WAG, everyone knows about Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift’s relationship. After making an appearance at a Kansas City Chiefs game, it was highly speculated that the two were a couple. Once the relationship was confirmed, the cameras always made sure to catch a glimpse of the pop star in the stands, and even the 2024 Super Bowl essentially became an additional leg of the Eras Tour. The influence of the WAG is undeniable, with WWPR reporting that the NFL regular-season games experienced a 7% increase in viewership from the previous year and a 9% surge in female viewership. In a single Chiefs vs. Bears game on Sept. 24, there was an 63% increase of female viewers between ages 18 to 49, directly following with Kelce gaining 250,000 followers in a single day on Sept. 25 and influencing his revenue, witnessing a 400% increase of jersey sales which places him in the top 5 most popular jerseys of the season. Fans have even decided to do away with traditional ESPN and NFL football schedules and opted for Cosmopolitan’s version, which details the probability of Swift’s attendance to Chiefs games.
The Swifties aren’t the only fanbase with a WAGs representative. Olympic Champion and world-proclaimed GOAT, Simon Biles, is a big fan of her man, Jonathan Owens of the Chicago Bears. With both husband and wife being professional athletes, their schedules and time commitments look a little different than the average couple. However, in their free time, the pair make it a point to fly across the globe in order to support each other on the field and the spring floor. Biles updates her Instagram each week with her stylish fits and a caption to send Owens her love and good luck wishes. Her WAG responsibilities go hand in hand with her wife responsibilities.
As a WAG, Biles recently took to Instagram to announce that she was teaming up with the official wine sponsor of the NFL, Barefoot Wine, to giveaway one lucky fan and three of her besties a, “once-in-a-lifetime experience to enjoy the NFL ‘WAG’ game day experience,” at the Nov. 17 Chicago Bears vs. Green Bay Packers rivalry game. Let it sink in: Simone Biles, the most decorated gymnast in history with 11 Olympic metals and 30 World Championship medals, is getting endorsed not for her athletic career but her WAG status…that’s how star-studded the WAG title is.
These women, however, deserve way more credit than to be labeled as a trophy wife. They are real wives and mothers who keep the home together while the man they love is pursuing not only his dream, but his success to secure the life they’ve chosen together. Chanen Johnson, wife of the New Orleans Saints’ tight end, Juwan Johnson, runs their joint couple TikTok @juadnchan, where she post marriage, mom and life updates, GRWMs and NFL wife satire to secure a 3.2 million following. She is a creative that has partnered with brands like Digiorno Pizza, Tarte Cosmetics, Progressive Car Insurance, and Wingstop among other companies she has stunned with her luxurious lifestyle and familial balance. Near the beginning of her TikTok career, Johnson posted a vulnerable explanation as to why she quit her full-time job for her time to better benefit her family. She speaks about the NFL’s on-the-go lifestyle, moving to a new hometown for each team. She also speaks on taxes, the unequal consideration of how much money she is being taxed bonded in a marriage with a high-earning individual, and the value of being a wife and a mom.
“The monetary value of being a stay-at-home, like the salary, equates to 160K a year,” Johnson said in a TikTok. “Being a mom, to one single child, 160K a year. So please, like, I promise we’re doing enough,” reasons Johnson.
Behind the cameras and undeserved hate comments, there is a smart (add: funny, genuine, and pretty) businesswoman that is earning secondary income for her family through brand deals and endorsements and her own business ventures, while simultaneously tending to her husband and her children. How badass is that?
There are other opportunities to capitalize on the whirlwind world of the WAGs. A WAG herself, Kristin Juszczyk, wife of Kyle Juszczyk, went viral for her customized NFL game day jackets and her dedication to her business. She works meticulously, sometimes for as long as 20 hours, on her reworked clothing designs and has been sought out by San Francisco 49ers’ Deebo Samuel, Patrick Mahomes’ wife, Brittany Mahomes, Biles, and Swift, to name a few.
Her brand has been so popularized that the NFL has granted her official licensing in order to use NFL logos and trademarks on men’s and women’s customized apparel, as reported by Sportico. The agreement was merged after Taylor Swift’s tailored Chiefs puffer went viral and dubbed Juszczyk as, “Taylor Swift’s Jacket Designer.”
The WAGs are taking over NFL Sunday. The iconic pregame kiss shot, the custom detailed outfits, the full-time vlogging of the complete experience — these girls prove it takes more than just a pretty face to be a WAG.
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