NFL WAGs: Trailblazers or Tradwives?

By Jaeda N.

“WAGs,” shorthand for athletes’ “wives and girlfriends,” have grabbed the spotlight in sports ranging from soccer to basketball to Formula One. However, their prominence has been especially significant in football. Whether on social media or magazine covers, the attention given to players’ personal lives seems to almost rival that dedicated to their athletic careers. Viewed with adoration by some, lambasted and mocked by others, these women are undeniably at the forefront of sports media. Many questions have accompanied their rise: Should we use the term “WAG” at all? Do they entrench gender stereotypes, or do they reshape a male-dominated sports landscape? 

The “Taylor Swift effect”

The pop star Taylor Swift’s highly publicized relationship with the Kansas City Chiefs’ tight end Travis Kelce has inspired a barrage of media attention in recent years. The buzz Swift generates has proven to be a boon for the NFL, drawing in a younger, female demographic. When Swift first appeared at a Chiefs game in September 2023, female viewership between the ages of 18-49 spiked 63%. The exposure Swift brought to football has translated a real impact on the NFL’s bottom line, as a report from MarketWatch estimates that Swift has brought the league roughly a billion dollars in publicity. The “Taylor Swift effect” also represents a broader increase in female viewership of football. According to the NFL, women constitute nearly half of its fanbase. WAGs, and an interest in players’ personal lives, appear to be a factor in engaging a female audience to the NFL. They help add a new dimension to watching a football game by making the sport feel more appealing to younger women. This growing contingent of female fans is a marker of how football, long considered to be solely a part of men’s purview, is becoming more accessible to new and diverse audiences. For the NFL, it’s also important to reach these viewers in order to maintain its relevance and ratings. 

Reinforcing gender norms

For some, the role that players’ spouses take on as supportive partners evokes archaic stereotypes about marriage and femininity. As Judy Liao, a professor at the University of Alberta, told the New York Times, “WAGs… offer the mainstream media this really good material to say, ‘We support gender equality because we’re showing women in sport,’ with the caveat that, “it’s not the women who are actually playing the sports.” In contrast to female professional athletes, who tend to challenge traditional norms of femininity, WAGs appear much more palatable to a sports and media landscape that is still incredibly male-dominated. Because they tend to be sidelined to their partners on the field, they potentially reinforce sexist gender expectations. The acronym “WAG” is also exclusionary, as it fails to account for the athletes’ spouses who don’t fit into the norms of heteronormativity.

Redefining the “WAG”

For some, the term “WAG” is demeaning and reductive. As Kylie Kelce, a podcast host who is also married to the Philadelphia Eagles’ Jason Kelce, explained, “I think it has a serious negative connotation attached. It’s this suggestion that your spouse’s profession swallows you up as well.” Other spouses have shared similar sentiments, but some argue that the term “WAG,” once seen as a pejorative, is being redefined now. “We were raised, I think, on it being a negative word, and don’t get me wrong, all of us get flak. I think we’re changing the narrative,” said Claire Kittle, the wife of the San Francisco 49ers’ George Kittle. As these women have increasingly become a fixture in the football world, they have gained recognition not only for their roles on the sidelines, but also for developing their own personal brands independent of their spouses. For example, the fashion designer Kristin Juszczyk, whose spouse is the 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk, has leveraged her role within the football world to create a sports apparel brand that is licensed by the NFL. As football players’ partners have become celebrities and business moguls in their own right, conceptions of what it means to be a WAG are shifting. Instead of just being seen as “arm candy,” these women are being spotlighted for their own personal style and business savvy. 

Prevalent sexism in football

Even though the NFL is paying more attention to women, the league remains afflicted by sexism and misogyny. This month, New York Giants co-owner Steve Tisch’s name emerged in the recently released batch of Epstein files. Also disturbingly, a 2025 survey conducted by Women in Football found that 78% of women working in football reported facing discrimination in their job, with 56% saying no action had been taken after reporting gender-based discrimination. Women from underrepresented ethnic groups had even higher numbers of discrimination. The results of this study clarify how WAGs exist in a football culture that has a long way to go in terms of fully supporting and welcoming women. 

WAGs reflect contradictory truths, having redefined women’s presence in football without fully challenging conventional notions of gender roles. While many have brought much-needed visibility to women in the NFL, they also portray a version of womanhood that is arguably limited. As WAGs continue to grab headlines and our attention, we can celebrate how they’re currently gaining recognition and changing football fandom. At the same time, we should strive for a more inclusive and empowering view of female participation in the NFL that extends beyond the current conversation on WAGs.