Top 5 FAQ About Life in the NFL

Life in the NFL is different.  It’s not your “average” 9am-5pm job like most people have.  The media does an awesome job depicting athletes as “superheroes” and making it seem like their life is SO different from everyone else.

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Because there are so few men that play in the NFL, there are few women that live to tell about it.  Just kidding.  But really, 1.5% of college athletes move on to play football professionally.  One and a half percent.  That’s a huge accomplishment BUT it doesn’t make the players or their families any different from the average.

Throughout the years, I’ve had lots of friends and family inquire about different aspects of the NFL.  Some people are just genuinely curious, some are nosey, and others are looking for a handout (I mean #keepinitrealmom).  I’ve compiled a list of the top 5 questions people want to know about life in the NFL, with the last being the MOST asked question.

 5.  His contract is for 4 years. That means you guys will be here for a while, right?

 HELLO.  So wrong.  The business aspect of the NFL is crazy.  Just because a player signs a “4 year contract” doesn’t mean they will stay with that team for all 4 years.  There are so many different scenarios that could happen but I’ll lay the basics out this way.

-Players can be traded *almost* anytime.  Like, even 5 minutes after they sign said contract.

-Players can be cut anytime.  Like, even 5 minutes after they sign said contract (see where we’re going here?)  The team does NOT have to live up to their end of the contract- they player has to prove their worth day in and day out.  Every second of the day.  The smallest mistake, injury, or bad play can cost you a job.

-You can get picked up and get cut 249874395345 times during the season. Thus, moving from city to city is a reality for some families.

 4.  What does he do all day?

 Well. He goes to work in the morning and leaves in the afternoon.  This is a loaded question and varies by the day.  In a nutshell, during the season, they go to the facility in the morning which consists of breakfast, meetings, and workouts.  The afternoon is time for practice or walk-thru, more meetings, and more meetings.  During the season, players have ONE day off.  ONE.  And it ain’t Saturday or Sunday.

3.  Do you guys get to take the most awesome vacations?

 The NFL has definitely allowed us to travel more than we normally would have.  We have never really taken any big exotic vacations but we were able to go visit family and friends as we wanted. We went to the beach, a cruise, the mountains- stuff like that.  Maybe we should get out more?  The offseason is the only time we really have to try to plan fun vacations or events.

But guess what?  The off-season is merely a term used when there’s no football on television.  Because guess what?  When you live with an NFL player, there is no off-season. Let me say it louder for the people in the back… THERE IS NO OFF-SEASON.  It isn’t real. This “time away from football” is the only chance the players have to take care of their bodies, eat right, workout, gain muscle, work on specific skills, etc before the “real” season.

So, guess what happens on vacation?  “I can’t go for a whole week because I’ve gotta train”. Ok, fine.  The few days we actually do go on vacation, I’m Googling the closest gyms and calling to make sure they have the equipment he needs or a field for him to run sprints.  Most people sleep in on vacation, right?  HAHA.  Nope.  He gets up at 6am to go workout (and what man can get up quietly without also waking you up?!).  So here we are, on vacation, up at 6am, heading to the gym.  Sigh.

2.  Do you get to go to all of the games and get tons of free tickets?

 Home games, yes.  I would usually go to all of the home games because, what else is there to do on a Sunday?  I rarely went to away games (I think I’ve made a total of 4 in 4 years) because most of the time, I had to get up and go to work on Monday.  Plus, flying to the game, getting a hotel, going to the game, and flying back potentially alone would have been no fun.  We could pay for the flight, hotel, and game tickets (for away games), or I could sit at home in my pajamas and watch on TV (most of the time folding laundry).  Which one would you choose?

Tickets.  I’ll leave it short and sweet because most people just honestly don’t know.  We don’t get an unlimited number of free tickets.  2.  We get 2 free tickets for home games.  Anything beyond that, we pay for. You read that correctly, WE pay for.  Got 10 family members coming?  You pay for 8 of them to get into the game.

 1. What are the other girls & wives like?

 SPOILER ALERT.  They’re normal!  People love to ask this question and I KNOW it’s because of the TV shows that glamorize the women that have NFL husbands.  But really- they’re normal.  They do the same stuff everyone else does.  It really makes me giggle when people ask because I don’t know how to answer.  They’re famous, dripping in diamonds, rude and have cameras following them everywhere?

Well.  It ain’t like that.  It’s like that for television because that is fun to watch (Real Housewives – I’ve seen every season).  I have made the best of friends with other girls that have guys on the team.  They are genuine; we have a lot in common and a lot of people have successful careers outside of their men (OMG- they work?… more on that later.)  So, next time you think to ask that question, think about me.  I’m normal-ish, I don’t have fancy jewelry, I don’t buy expensive clothes (don’t ask about the shoes, though), I don’t have (or want) a TV show, and I go to games to support my man… just like all the other ladies.  We’re normal.

 The NFL has absolutely been a blessing in our lives and has allowed us to travel and meet some really amazing friends.  Because it is such a unique job to have, everyone loves to ask questions about what it’s like. In a nutshell, it’s fun, challenging, unpredictable, and worth it.

Just #keepinitreal.

What questions do you have about life in the NFL? I’d love to hear them!