More than wives : Movies and music by the women of the NFL

It’s Super Bowl season.

We’ve officially entered the first weeks of February, and screens across the country are already saturated with every facet of football. From the players and the predictions to the commercials and the commentary, the next two weeks are set to be chock-full of enough football content to satisfy even the most fanatic NFL fans.

But, it’s no secret that the majority of this football-focused media will be mostly male, and until the day a woman takes the field on Super Bowl Sunday, the big game is for the boys.

But, it’s also no secret that many famous NFL players have famous women in their lives who do much more than sit in the stands. So, for those looking to switch up their content consumption this month or pre-game “The Game” with a healthy dose of girl power while still staying on the theme of football festivities, here’s a compilation of some of the best music, movies, and TV shows created by or featuring women who tied the knot with an NFL man – after they reached superstar status of their own.

Kerry Washington

The Emmy-award-winning superstar who solidified her space in the spotlight with her acclaimed performance as Olivia Pope on Shonda Rimes’ Scandal is married to Nnamdi Asomugha, a former NFL cornerback for the Oakland Raiders, Philadelphia Eagles, and San Francisco 49ers.

Along with her Emmy, which she won in 2020 for Live in Front of a Studio Audience, the Bronx-born actress has a slew of accolades and awards to her name, including a BET Award for Best Actress, five NAACP Image Awards, and a spot on Time’s 100 Most Influential People list for 2014.

Since her screen debut in 1994 in an ABC Afterschool Special, Washington has lent her talents to 20 television shows, 39 films, two plays, and three directorial projects.

Most Recent: Little Fires Everywhere (2020)

Most Famous: Scandal (2012-2018)

Check Out: Ray (2004), Confirmation (2016), The Last King of Scotland (2006)

Ciara

In 2003, Ciara (whose full name was Ciara Princess Harris at the time), graduated high school in Riverdale, Georgia. In 2004, she released her debut studio album, sold 3 million copies, and topped both the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and the Billboard Hot 100.

By 2006, Goodies, the aforementioned debut album, had been certified 7 times platinum by the RIAA and Ciara had been nominated for four Grammys and won one of them – all within three years of her high school graduation.

Her explosion onto the music scene earned her recognition by the industry as one of the pioneers of a new sub-genre called “crunk&B,” named for its blending of Southern hip hop’s uptempo crunk stylings with contemporary R&B’s smoother melodies. After leading an entirely new musical movement before even breaking into her 20’s, Ciara went on to release six more studio albums and has sold 23 million records to date.

In 2014, while Ciara was in between releasing her fifth and sixth albums, her then-soon-to-be husband and Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson led his team to win the Super Bowl.

They were married the next year – the same year that Ciara hosted the Billboard Music Awards, signed a contract with IMG Models and became a Global Brand Ambassador for Revlon.

Most Recent: Beauty Marks (2019)

Most Famous: Goodies (2004)

Check Out: Fantasy Ride (2009)

Jessica Simpson

Another singer who became super-successful while still super-young, pop star and certified Y2K style icon Jessica Simpson (now Jessica Johnson since marrying San Francisco 49ers and New Orleans Saints tight end Eric Johnson), signed with Columbia Records at just 17 years old after growing up singing in church in her home town of Abilene, Texas.

Her debut album Sweet Kisses, which she released in 1999 when she was 19, went double platinum in the US, launching her to the forefront of the American pop music scene for the new millennium.

In true early-2000s fashion, she went on to star on her reality TV show that secured her status as a household name, but despite the expansion of her career into TV and film, her albums continued to come out – and continued to be highly commercially successful. Between 1999 and 2010, the Southern starlet released seven studio albums, two of which hit multi-platinum sales status, and three compilation albums, along with launching an eponymous fashion brand that has now grossed over $1 billion in revenue.

Most Recent: Her memoir, Open Book, was published in 2020.

Most Famous: In This Skin (2003)

Check Out: Irresistible (2001)

Jessie James Decker

Before adding Decker onto her name in 2013 after marrying Eric Decker, a wide receiver for the Denver Broncos, New York Jets, and Tennessee Titans, country-pop singer Jessie James Decker titled her 2009 debut studio album, Jessie James. The young songwriter, who grew up constantly moving around as the child of an Air Force officer, had been performing since she was a child and secured a deal with Mercury Records while still a teenager.

Blending the country influences of her upbringing in Louisiana, Texas, Georgia, and Kentucky with the Britney-style pop that was dominating the end of the decade, James Deckers’ first single “Wanted” reached 18 on the Billboard US Dance charts and was certified Gold by the RIAA.

Since her debut, the multi-genre performer has gone on to release two more studio albums and five EPs, including her most recent 2021 EP The Woman I’ve Become, which features the Billboard Hot 100 top ten single “Should Have Known Better” and will be the focus of her recently-announced headlining tour set to start in April.

Most Recent: The Woman I’ve Become (2021)

Most Famous: Jessie James (2009)

Check Out: Gold (2017)