Fighting for the Lom-bark-i Trophy! Many NFL champions come home from an intense workout or football game and can count on their sweet pups for support.
Patrick Mahomes and his wife, Brittany Matthews, are the proud dog parents to Steel and Silver, who are pit bull and cane Corso pooches, respectively.
“He’s an awesome dog — very loving, very energetic,” the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback told the Kansas City Star in 2019 about Steel. “He’s like my best friend. It’s a great dog to have. … It was a joint decision [to adopt Silver, because Brittany] definitely wanted it. I was trying to wait until the offseason, but she wanted to get it up here quickly.”
Mahomes and the Brittany Lynne Fitness entrepreneur, who run a joint Instagram account on behalf of the pups, utilized their canine companions to help complete their gender reveal when she was pregnant with daughter Sterling. (Sterling was born in February 2021.)
“Baby Girl💕💕 P.s- Yes, my dogs walked down a runway with pink paws for the reveal 🤩😍,” Matthews captioned Instagram footage in October 2020.
The Texas native, who married Matthews in March 2022, is hardly the only professional football player to find comfort in a four-legged companion. Tom Brady, who announced his NFL retirement in February 2022 before confirming his football return one month later, shares three pups with wife Gisele Bündchen. The couple — who tied the knot in February 2009 — are proud puppy parents to Lua, Scooby and Fluffy.
“Thank you @wagsandwalks for all you do and for letting us rescue this little angel. The kids are over the moon with our new family member,” the Brazilian supermodel wrote via Instagram in February 2019. “Fluffy is pure joy! #puppylove #joy #family ❤️🐾🐶”
Russell Wilson, for his part, has three Great Danes with wife Ciara.
“I love No. 3, so I always wanted to have three Great Danes,” the former Seattle Seahawks quarterback said in an April 2019 video for the sports team, showing off pups Prince, Naomi and Hero. “They all feel like they’re brothers and sisters, that’s for sure. They like wrestling each other, that’s pretty much what they do for fun most of the day.”
He gushed at the time: “We always try to travel with them, so whenever we’re going somewhere for more than a week, we try to bring them with us and that’s always fun … just to bring three Great Danes on the road.”
Scroll below to meet the canine companions of the top NFL athletes: