While he was waiting for his agent to call in September, Isaac Rochelle, a professional football player looking for a team, watched the National Football League’s opening weekend games on television with his infant daughter. His wife needed a baby sitter.
Alison Kucharski, Rochelle’s wife and an online influencer with more than three million TikTok followers, was close to the field due to a partnership with NBC Sports. He is from Kansas City, Mo. crossing continents on a private jet with other content creators to document weekends of rowdy tailgates, concession food and stadium environments at NFL games; São Paulo, Brazil; And Detroit.
By documenting her lifestyle as the wife of a professional athlete, Kucharski has become more famous than Rochelle, who reached the highest levels of her sport but never became a household name. Rochelle said, when together in public, people sometimes ask for her autograph instead of Kucharski’s.
“It doesn’t hurt my ego — I’m excited for him — but it was crazy,” said Rochelle, a defensive lineman who played for four NFL teams in seven seasons.
As the NFL and its media partners attract more female audiences, they are increasingly engaging with players’ wives and girlfriends. (Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift’s partnership was inescapable last season.) He hopes potential fans who aren’t interested in sports jargon and players outshining each other on the field will instead be drawn to the clothing line in luxury suites. And may respond to glamorized experiences.
“When women see me sharing about the NFL, they end up saying, ‘Wow, I can actually be interested in this more than just stats,'” said Kucharski, 29. “I think there’s room for everyone in sports,
He added, “People don’t have to be big names to invest in your story.”
Rochelle, 29, played college football at Notre Dame and was a seventh-round draft pick by the Los Angeles Chargers in 2017. While he struggled to remain on teams’ rosters for several seasons, he was also regularly active on their social media channels. Volunteering for projects. He proposed to Kucharski, whom he met at a college party while they were recording the Chargers Podcast, in 2020.
“If you spend five minutes with Allison and Isaac, you’ll see their chemistry and see how genuine they are,” said Jason Lavin, Chargers senior vice president for brand creative and content. “That type of relationship is something you want to highlight on your feed.”
During the coronavirus pandemic, the couple posted regularly on TikTok. Rochelle took viewers behind the scenes of NFL routines, including the buffet-style meal that players eat the night before a game. Many of Kucharski’s posts showcased the less glamorous side of Rochelle’s nomadic career, like living separately and packing to move cities — Indianapolis, Cleveland, Las Vegas — whenever he changed teams.
Kucharski, who worked as an interior designer while she was nine months pregnant, told followers that she cried when the Las Vegas Raiders released Rochelle just weeks before her due date in November 2023. Kucharski, who admits he doesn’t have the financial resources available to everyone, says the online community he fostered helped him through his chaotic moments.
“I think sharing makes me feel less alone,” she said.
As the couple’s social presence increased, the NFL took notice. The league sent Rochelle a jersey emblazoned with “Mr. Kuch’s nameplate and Kucharski was a red-carpet correspondent at a Super Bowl event last year. The couple also participated in a voter registration drive with former President Barack Obama.
“In this next generation of content creators, they understand how they can both be successful and what they need to do to support each other,” said Ian Trombetta, the NFL’s senior vice president of social, influencer and content marketing. Is.”
British tabloids coined the acronym “WAG” (wives and girlfriends) to refer to the partners of footballers two decades ago, and many famous footballers have had equally famous spouses. Supermodel Gisele Bundchen was Public attorney for Tom Brady Singer Ciara married quarterback Russell Wilson in 2016, before their 13-year marriage ended in 2022.
But it was Swift’s relationship with Kelce that ignited a new level of interest.
Kristin Juszak, wife of San Francisco 49ers fullback Kyle Juszak, launched a clothing line this month after designing outerwear for Swift and Olympic gymnast Simone Biles (who is married to Chicago Bears safety Jonathan Owens). fox sports A segment was recorded This season with Alix Earl, a TikTok influencer with seven million followers, who is dating Miami Dolphins receiver Braxton Berrios. And this month, Netflix will release a series“WAGS to Riches”, which follows the significant others of athletes and entertainers, including Keita Hill, wife of Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill.
Rochelle never received a call from his agent, but he is still training in hopes that an NFL team will sign him. Even if they have to retire, the league said it will continue to work with the pair.
“It’s actually easier because he’ll have more time,” Trombetta said, laughing.