Not every NFL athlete signs a multi-million dollar contract to play professional football, leaving their families to supplement their incomes elsewhere.
“I’ll just make it clear: We have multiple streams of revenue that we’ve built up over the past seven years,” Allison Kuch, who is married to a free agent Isaac Rochellshe said on a November 2023 episode of her “Sunday Sports Club.” podcast. “Also, if you’ve been in the NFL for seven years and you have to get a job right away as soon as you get cut, something’s not right.”
Kuch and Rochell, who welcomed daughter Scottie in December 2023, don’t rely solely on his NFL salary — especially while he’s unsigned. They also have her podcast, his husband’s PSA merchandise, and various other social media deals and referrals that contribute to their family’s income.
Jason Kelcemeanwhile, he played all 14 seasons of his NFL career with the Philadelphia Eagles before retiring in March 2024. He is also an ESPN anchor and hosts the “New Heights” podcast with brother Travis Kelce. While the podcast was recently sold to Wondery for millions, Jason and wife Kylie Kelce they still keep their home life relatively modest. (They share three daughters, and are expecting baby #4 in November 2024.)
“We make sure they feel supported by their family and friends in everything we do and that we don’t really put them in a privileged position,” Kylie exclusively said Us Weekly in June 2024. “(We’re) doing everything we can to make sure that when they grow up and turn 16, they drive (a used vehicle). We can’t let them have a standalone car at this point. You’re not going to get dad’s (Tesla) CyberTruck like your hand. You’ll be driving a base model, hopefully, that will have to roll down the windows with a lever.”
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Salary conversation
Despite players like Patrick Mahomes, Dak Prescott and Aaron Rodgers raking in the big bucks, not all NFL contracts are created equal. Retired athlete Chad Hansenwoman, Bryce Watts Hansen, close the assertions that “all NFL players are millionaires” in a series of TikTok videos from December 2024.
Actually, Bryce he said that the couple lives in a 700-square-foot apartment with the same battered couch they’ve had since he signed his rookie contract with the New York Jets.
“He’s been on eight different NFL teams, which means eight different contracts are being signed and terminated,” she explained video. “When you’re on the team, it’s good money — whether (you’re on) the practice squad or the active roster, it’s all good money.”
She added, “But because contracts aren’t guaranteed … (once you get cut) you don’t get anything, especially if you sign at the beginning of the offseason and then get cut during the offseason. You don’t see any of that money because you didn’t play over and over again, you didn’t go to training.”
According to Bryce, they also spent most of his salary on expenses associated with moving from one team to another, as well as doctor appointments and other necessary expenses.
“The costs really start to add up, so you have to (decide), ‘We’re not going to buy new furniture, we’d rather spend it on something for his body or a recovery tool,'” Bryce added. “It ended up helping us and him.”
Insurance business
Like any employer, the NFL offers insurance to active players in the league.
“They don’t even get life insurance,” Kuch said in July 2024 TikTok video. “Some players who only play one game, I get it, but Tom Brady? He is insured for only four more years.”
Kuch is in Rochello’s plan, which “restarts” every time he signs with a new team.
“Last year, because my husband was employed by the Las Vegas Raiders, he received coverage for a full year of employment,” she said. “Since that working year is over, we get insurance for another five years. Every year my husband continues to play, and it restarts for the next five years.”
So even though Rochell was kicked out of the Raiders weeks before Kuch gave birth, her birth bill was still covered by their insurer.
Price of uniforms
According to Bryce, athletes cannot keep their jerseys without paying for them. She discovered on the second of December 2024 TikTok that Chad only bought helmets for two of the eight teams he played for during his career.
“I think the jerseys can cost up to $600 or so, so when (athletes) get changed after the game, you have to pay for it,” she said. “He wanted to buy a helmet for a little more, but when you cut yourself the last thing you want to do is buy a helmet that costs several hundred dollars.”
Providing match day tickets
Although many NFL wives and their children are a staple at football games, it’s not always easy to secure tickets.
“NFL tickets are not free, even if your husband or boyfriend is on the team,” Bryce said on Dec. 3, 2024. TikTok video. “They get a certain amount and have to move it from another player if they don’t get enough for family members – but they also pay tax.”
According to Bryce, the tickets were scattered around the stadium in different sections next to other fans.
“You don’t get some ‘primo’ seat in the front row,” she explained. “Also, when you see the people in the box? Even the big players? They pay them. They paid for those boxes, they don’t get them for free.”
Travis Kelcefor his part, spent more than 3 million dollars for a box at the 2024 Super Bowl for a girl Taylor Swiftboth their families and a host of famous friends. Big game played at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, which also has a “Field Club” on the sidelines, complete with tables and bottle service.
“That’s a crazy amount of money to get one of those booths in the Field Club,” Kylie Colewho is married to the Raiders punter AJ Cole, he said on Kuch’s podcast in October 2024, confirming that seats are selling for approximately $30,000 per table.
In Los Angeles, Kelly Stafford was supposed to pay for the apartment for her and the Rams quarterback Matthew Staffordfour daughters.
“There’s an area in the suite where there’s food and you can sit down and have a cocktail or something to eat and my kids are sitting there coloring,” Kelly said on her podcast “Morning After”. in October 2024. “I’m saying, ‘Hey, there’s a reason I’m bringing you to these games. To be honest, this is a waste card. You can do it at home, watch it on TV and color it.’”
Kelly added: “As much as I really want them to be there because I know their dad wants them to be there, I also wonder, am I wasting money bringing you to these games?”
All kinds of punishments
Many athletes also had to set aside part of their salaries to pay off league debts.
“In the NFL, you can get penalized for a lot of different things,” the Saints star Juwan Johnsonwoman, Chan Johnsonsaid October 2024 TikTok video. “Penalties come either from the NFL itself or from your team specifically, like if you’re late for practice or a meeting … or you do something bad in a game.”
According to the Channel, Juwan has only been fined $2,000 for “failing the weight test” during his five-year NFL career.
A year before, Rochell discovered on his TikTok that in his rookie year with the Los Angeles Chargers he was fined $30,000 for a mid-game assault.
“Everybody in the NFL knows that if you have a FedEx package in your locker, you’re going to be fined,” Rochell joked. “You pay someone. I opened it and sure enough it was $30,000. Keep in mind I was making $500 a week during training camp at that point, so that was way more than I was making in training camp.”
Hierarchy among wives
Player contracts even influence the dynamics with spouses of players.
“For women, for sure, (there is a hierarchy). She has a diverse team to team, but if you think about any group of 53 girls in a room, you’re not going to get along with every one of them,” Kuch said on “The Viall Files” podcast in August 2024. “You’re going to gravitate to different girls, whatever . There were teams that (Isaac) played for, where girls don’t give you time unless your husband has a certain size contract or he’s a veteran.”
Rochell, for his part, stated that the same hierarchy exists in the locker room, but “it’s not that bad.”
“I think the guys are cool,” he said. “But there’s such a difference in how much people make that it’s hard not to have that (being a thing). Your teammate could be earning 30 times more than you. If you have a guy making $4 million a game and then me — remember (I was making) $7,000 every two weeks — he doesn’t care about me. No way. If he’s really worried about winning, he’s not worried about Isaac on (the) practice squad (in) his rookie year.”