Get to Know the Most Beloved NFL Moms: Donna Kelce and More Parents of Football Players

Credit: Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Get to Know the Most Beloved NFL Moms: Donna Kelce and More Parents of Football Players

Donna Kelce, Wilma McNabb and more moms of pro football players were their sons’ No. 1 fans long before their NFL days. Travis and Jason Kelce’s mother found herself in the spotlight leading up to Super Bowl LVII in February 2023, which marked the first time brothers played against one another in the championship game. (Travis is a tight end on the Kansas City Chiefs, while Jason plays center for the Philadelphia Eagles.) Donna went viral for wearing a jacket that represented both of her sons’ teams to the Super Bowl, and she has a few other good luck charms that she keeps around. “[I] have two bracelets that were my stepmother’s,” she exclusively told Us Weekly in November 2023, noting that she has charms for the Eagles and the Chiefs. Donna added: “I’ll wear the KC bracelet when I’m at [Travis’] games and I’ll wear the Philly bracelet when I’m at [Jason’s] games. … I’ll either try to find a funny picture from the past or make some comment that I remember them making in the past, just wish them luck. That’s basically all I do.” Superstitions aside, Donna couldn’t be more proud of her boys — and the love is reciprocated. While recapping the 2023 Super Bowl on their “New Heights” podcast, Travis and Jason got emotional as they showered their mom with praise. “She was on top of [the world], and she shined the whole time. That was the coolest part,” Travis gushed. Scroll down to learn more about the NFL’s most recognizable moms:

Credit: Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Get to Know the Most Beloved NFL Moms: Donna Kelce and More Parents of Football Players

Donna Kelce, Wilma McNabb and more moms of pro football players were their sons’ No. 1 fans long before their NFL days. Travis and Jason Kelce’s mother found herself in the spotlight leading up to Super Bowl LVII in February 2023, which marked the first time brothers played against one another in the championship game. (Travis is a tight end on the Kansas City Chiefs, while Jason plays center for the Philadelphia Eagles.) Donna went viral for wearing a jacket that represented both of her sons’ teams to the Super Bowl, and she has a few other good luck charms that she keeps around. “[I] have two bracelets that were my stepmother’s,” she exclusively told Us Weekly in November 2023, noting that she has charms for the Eagles and the Chiefs. Donna added: “I’ll wear the KC bracelet when I’m at [Travis’] games and I’ll wear the Philly bracelet when I’m at [Jason’s] games. … I’ll either try to find a funny picture from the past or make some comment that I remember them making in the past, just wish them luck. That’s basically all I do.” Superstitions aside, Donna couldn’t be more proud of her boys — and the love is reciprocated. While recapping the 2023 Super Bowl on their “New Heights” podcast, Travis and Jason got emotional as they showered their mom with praise. “She was on top of [the world], and she shined the whole time. That was the coolest part,” Travis gushed. Scroll down to learn more about the NFL’s most recognizable moms:

Credit: Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Donna Kelce

Donna found herself in the spotlight in the leadup to Super Bowl 2023, a.k.a. the Kelce Bowl, which saw Travis and the Chiefs defeating Jason and the Eagles. The attention reached new heights later that year as Travis began dating Taylor Swift. 

“They had phenomenal coaches, fantastic teachers, great support [and] families that were around us because we traveled so much [for] baseball [and] football. … I think it was a menagerie of all those individuals with all those great qualities that rubbed off on them through all those years,” Donna exclusively told Us of her boys in November 2023. “I’m just very, very happy that they got those opportunities and they turned into the men that they are.”

Credit: Courtesy of Lisa McCaffrey/Instagram

Lisa McCaffrey

Christian McCaffrey’s mom is frequently cheering for her son in the stands at 49ers games. She cohosts the “Your Mom” podcast, where she’s been known to spill embarrassing stories about her son.

“She’s changed. She’s different,” Christian joked on a February 2023 episode. “The only time she’s texted me is to [ask me to] come on the show.”

Credit: Courtesy of Cheryl Bosa/Instagram

Cheryl Bosa

“Split jersey split loyalty. ❤️💙,” the mother of San Francisco 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa and Los Angeles Chargers linebacker Joey Bosa captioned a November 2022 Instagram photo of herself wearing a custom jersey with one sleeve dedicated to each of her sons’ teams.

Credit: Courtesy of Randi Mahomes/Instagram

Randi Mahomes

“I am very, very proud,” Randi gushed to a local Kansas City news outlet in January 2020 as son Patrick Mahomes prepared to play in his first Super Bowl. “I always say we're blessed. He's blessed to be able to do his dream — to live doing exactly what he loves.”

Patrick and the Chiefs took home the win that year and in 2023 for Super Bowl LVII. The quarterback was named MVP for both championship games, and his mom was there to cheer him on. 

Credit: Courtesy of Sauce Gardner/Instagram

Alisa Gardner

Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner bought mom Alisa a new Mercedes-Benz in June 2022 after signing his four-year contract with the New York Jets. “Another one off the checklist!!! Ma, I appreciate you for raising a great man❕And thank you God for allowing me to make this happen. Love you both💙,” the cornerback gushed via Instagram.

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Olivia Williams Manning

“I was always a football fan, but I didn’t know it was gonna be quite to this extent,” Williams Manning, the mother of former quarterbacks Eli and Peyton Manning, teased in a 2006 interview with CBS SportsLine. “Having a husband that plays football is one thing, but having two sons in the NFL has really been pretty incredible. We’re so proud of them.”

Along with Eli and Peyton, Williams Manning shares son Cooper Manning with husband Archie Manning, who played on the New Orleans Saints from 1971 to 1982.

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Pamela Hurts

Pamela’s son, Eagles QB Jalen Hurts, is fiercely loyal to family — especially when it comes to his mom’s cooking. In a TikTok video shared by Sports Illustrated in August 2023, Jalen was asked to choose between a Philly cheesesteak or Texas barbecue. He opted for “my mama’s barbecue” instead, and ranked it higher than Wawa, Waffle House and others.

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Wilma McNabb

Donovan McNabb’s mom joined him in ads for Campbell's Chunky Soup at the height of his NFL career, which came to an end in 2011. The mother-son duo were even parodied on Saturday Night Live by Kenan Thompson and Finesse Mitchell.