NFL training camp is usually a time for complete focus on football but this year, many glamorous wives and girlfriends of several star quarterbacks made it onto the practice field.
Madison Beer and Justin Herbert, who recently announced their engagement, were filmed getting cozy on the sidelines after a recent Los Angeles Chargers session, before Joe Burrow did the same in a rare public appearance with his on-off girlfriend, Olivia Ponton.
New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart was also pictured kissing his girlfriend, Marissa Ayers, at practice while in full pads as she walked onto the field to greet him. The presence and the attention drawn to it comes with the NFL focusing on ‘scaling up its female-focused content’, per FOS, with WAGs being used as part of a ‘coordinated content rollout.’
Ian Trombetta, the NFL’s SVP of social and influencer marketing, said: ‘On the league and club level, we’ve engaged our players’ families and loved ones for years.
‘Whether it’s training camp, weekly practice or a major event like the Super Bowl, we look for authentic opportunities to highlight our players and the people who are part of their journey. The content is authentic, genuine and relatable, and that’s resonated strongly with women and young fans, who are key growth audiences for the NFL.’
The growing trend of WAGS at training camp has divided NFL fans, with many on social media raising concerns over distractions as their teams prepare for the season.
Jaxson Dart was joined on the Giants practice field by his girlfriend, Marissa Ayers, this week
Dart was still in his pads as the pair were pictured together at the Giants facility
Dart shared a kiss with his girlfriend in a break from practice ahead of the new NFL season
Body language expert Judi James suggested to the Daily Mail that Dart looked aware of his teammates as he interacted with Ayers, conscious of the image he was portraying.
She said: ‘The core PDA pose here is less romantic and more sensual or flirty as Jaxson spreads his legs wide to indulge in a rather cut-looking ‘guppy’ kiss, with lips puckered and pushed forward and meeting in a face-to-face lighter touch than a proper mouth kiss.
‘There are some signals of possible wariness from Jaxson here too as he looks around as they chat, as though still mindful of the rest of the team or any return to training.’
Herbert and Beer, meanwhile, looked much more comfortable together when filmed stroking each other’s hair in the Los Angeles sunshine. That is perhaps unsurprising, given her celebrity status and the attention they have generated before their recent engagement.
‘Should PDAs like this very intimate and intense one have any place in a sporting hero’s training repertoire?’ James pondered.
‘There’s historically been a myth that a woman will sap a man’s strength and ability to compete or fight at peak level. Boxers in particular still tend to lock themselves away in training camps with no contact with their wives prior to a big fight, only revealing their soft, affectionate side after a win.
‘Herbert looks extremely comfortable showing off his loving, romantic side here though, accepting Madison’s PDA with a facial expression and head tilt eye contact that suggests he is besotted.
‘The couple sit wrapped together in a way to suggest they are in their own loving bubble and lost or detached from what is going on around them.
Madison Beer flashed her engagement ring after her recent life milestone with Herbert
Justin Herbert and Madison Beer are used to the spotlight and recently got engaged
Beer has been a big supporter of the Chargers quarterback since they started dating
‘Madison’s gesture of affection is likely to stir up the fans who believe a sporting hero should remain in an alpha state at all times, perhaps in a bid to intimidate their opponents and to make themselves look like full-time warriors.
‘They could see the way Herbert is receiving gentle, soothing and almost maternal-looking head strokes from Madison as a sign he’s showing weakness.
‘An important point here though is that he very obviously looks happy. Giving Madison his full attention during a break or after training doesn’t mean he won’t apply himself during the practice.
‘Their signals look complementary here. She looks as happy stroking his hair and face as he does being stroked. The gestures suggest an even romantic balance and an even sense of attention signals.
‘Where there is more likely to be a distraction is when there is unhappiness or inequality in a relationship or when one is focusing more on their selfies than their partner.’
She even suggested that the presence of Beer could have a positive impact on his on-field performances.
‘Balanced-looking signals like this could suggest some enhancement to his game rather than any distraction,’ she explained. ‘It can be confidence-boosting, de-stressing and there might even be a desire to show off to his girl when he is playing.’
As for Burrow and Ponton, it was perhaps telling that the couple took a seat together far away from any assembled media when she visited him in camp.
Their relationship was first exposed in 2024 when Burrow’s mansion was robbed while he was playing on the road against Dallas Cowboys. Ponton was inside and alerted police, with her involvement then emerging from the subsequent police report. Until then, the pair had not been linked with Burrow thought to have been with longtime girlfriend Olivia Holzmacher.
‘I feel like my privacy has been violated in more ways than one, and way more is already out there than I would want out there and that I care to share,’ Burrow said at the time.
He has kept his cards close to his chest over his personal life since then and for a time was believed to have split from Ponton before they were pictured together in California during the offseason.
Joe Burrow was seen with Olivia Ponton at Cincinnati Bengals training camp in August
The couple took a seat away from the assembled media as they enjoyed a moment together
Burrow and Ponton’s relationship first emerged when his mansion was robbed with her inside
By comparison, James determined that Dart and Ayers’ display was far less natural than the interaction between Herbert and Beer.
She added: ‘As a couple standing here their poses look a lot more ‘social media’ than Herbert and Beer and their gestures suggest a more animated chat than just absorbed, intimate and romantic.
‘His leg splay as he kisses her though does suggest she brings out the alpha, dominant state in him which might be good news for fans worried he’s showing off a softer side.’
Of course, the most famous WAG of all in Taylor Swift has yet to appear at Kansas City Chiefs practice as Travis Kelce prepares for what many anticipate will be his final ever season. While she hasn’t ever appeared at camp before, Kelce’s new wife is a regular at Arrowhead Stadium for Chiefs games.
The increased presence of NFL WAGs at training camp comes after Brandon Aiyuk’s wife, Rochelle, shared an inside look at what training camp is like for those dating or married to NFL stars.
In a TikTok last year, she revealed that WAGs ‘go into a frenzy’ and are ‘in a panic’ while their significant other is in the most intense stages of preparing for the season.
The NFL’s ‘WAG era’ exploded when Travis Kelce started dating Taylor Swift in 2023
She explained: ‘Training camp does last for multiple weeks and the women freak out because – so in my situation, I’m a mother. Now he has to abruptly leave, and [I’m] taking care of my rambunctious four-year-old by myself, who has never slept, and he is off the walls. He’s a hard one.
‘For some other people’s situations, they’re not based in the same city that the team plays… the wives and girlfriends who are back home now have to get left and [their significant other] have to go report to work, go to camp. I get to see my husband every few days, they don’t get to see their man at all for like weeks.
‘Another thing, training camp is so intense. Some of the men are not guaranteed a spot yet, they are fighting for their spot on the team. So if they don’t make this team and they end up on a different team, the family has to pack up and move. It’s just a lot.’
The serious business starts on September 9 in a repeat of last season’s Super Bowl between Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots.
