Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen is entering the 2026 football season with a new role at home, and it’s one that he gets emotional talking about.
Allen, 30, and his wife, actress Hailee Steinfeld, welcomed their first child, daughter Harper, in April, and he admits the title of “dad” has changed his life. He talked about it in a conversation at a golf event for the The Patricia Allen Fund, where he teared up talking about Harper.
“Having my daughter,” Allen said. “I look at parents differently, because I can picture myself in that situation now where I never could. So I just want to say, you guys are inspiring to me, as well, and everybody here. That’s what The Patricia Allen Fund was made for — was not just to help support these kids, but to support these families that are going through such hard times.”
He continued, “And this year has just been so different. I can’t really put into words what it means. But I know that feeling of holding your son or daughter and wanting to take away every pain that they may feel.”
(The Patricia Allen Fund is named for Allen’s late grandmother and benefits the Golisano Children’s Hospital of Buffalo. This year’s event raised more than $775,000.)
Allen also spoke to Us about fatherhood earlier in July, where he explained that Harper has changed his “why.”
“With what I do, and the hits that accumulate over time, and the little things of being able to play with your kids on the playground one day, throw the ball back to them, and understanding that you got to be right in all facets of your life to get to that point,” he said. “So, making sure that I am getting the good sleep that I can get to recover the way I need to recover, to be the dad that I want to be.”
Allen has also needed to redefine what success means to him, jokingly adding, “Success looks like getting my daughter down, back to sleep at night. It makes everything much less relevant. The outside stuff, it just makes you feel like it doesn’t matter.”
With the Bills entering training camp this week, the former NFL MVP is looking to exorcise some of his postseason demons in 2026-27. Under Allen’s leadership at quarterback, Buffalo has made the playoffs each of the past seven seasons but has yet to reach the Super Bowl in that time.
He told Us that he is not putting much pressure on himself to make this the season the Bills break through.
“It’s always been my dream. It’s been my goal from day one, since I set foot in Buffalo, to bring a Lombardi Trophy to western New York,” he said. “And that’s not going to change. But again, just making sure I’m falling in love with the process of what it takes to get there, enjoying the game that I love and being the best person, player, father that I can be while doing it.”
