NFL leverages quarterbacks' high-profile partners to attract female fans

One outlet's reports that the NFL is staging a coordinated campaign that showcases quarterbacks Justin Herbert, Joe Burrow and Jaxson Dart alongside their well-known partners—Madison Beer, Olivia Ponton and Marissa Ayers—to draw interest from women and younger audiences. Ian Trombetta, the NFL’s senior vice president of social and influencer marketing, explained that the league has long involved players' families in content and is now emphasizing these relationships during training camp, practice sessions and high-profile events.

Beer’s TikTok following exceeds the league’s own, while Ponton and Ayers each have millions of followers as Gen-Z influencers. Posts featuring Herbert and Beer, for example, received roughly ten times the average likes on the NFL’s Instagram. The effort coincides with the league’s broader push to expand female-focused content ahead of the new season, even as it acknowledges that the exposure cannot match the cultural impact of the Taylor Swift-Travis Kelce phenomenon.