Joe Burrow’s background, family, money. Everything you ever wanted to know about the Bengals’ superstar quarterback
Joe Burrow has taken the NFL by storm and has accomplished so much in only two seasons that you may forget how short a time he has been around
Just before the world heard of coronavirus, the NCAA Division-I football world was blown apart by a young quarterback at LSU. Joe Burrow was quiet and unassuming, a backup quarterback at Ohio State. He came to Baton Rouge looking for an opportunity and Ed Orgeron took a chance on him. What he did was the stuff of legend, he took a program that had always been solid, but decidedly shaken of late, and brought them a National Championship by going undefeated. He was rewarded with the Heisman Trophy, the perfect end to a perfect season.
One thing that SEC fans, and particularly LSU fans, are is loyal. To a fault. The Tigers are a big fish in a small state, and they definitely swim with sharks. This brings a combination of small-town devotion and swagger together, often colliding. If you are not in, you may not get in. But once you are in, you are in for life. Joe Burrow is the outsider who not only got in, he kicked the doors down. And he did it in such a quiet, respectful way that even those who don’t like LSU became fans of his.
Louisiana follows and supports “our” boys wherever they are. You will find the same sentiment expressed for Leonard Fournette, Andrew Whitworth, Tyrann Mathieu, and all former players from any college in the state. But LSU is the flagship, and the quarterback is the top spot, and the moment Joe Burrow was drafted by the Bengals, there was an unspoken, but almost universal, shift in the state’s NFL loyalties. We still support the Saints, but we all have a soft spot for Cincinnati. And that is all because of Joe Burrow.
The road travelled
Burrow was born into an exceptionally athletic family, to Jim and Robin Burrow in Ames, Iowa. His father, Jim, had a successful college career at Nebraska and was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the first round of the 1976 NFL draft. Ultimately playing only three games with the Packers, he transitioned to a successful career in the Canadian Football League. Moving on to coaching at the close of his playing days, he ultimately wound up as the Ohio State University defensive coordinator.
Apparently, young Joe was a prolific three-point shooter in school and his father reckons that he could have made it in the NBA. Had he chosen that road, he would have been following in the footsteps of other family members, with his grandmother Dot holding the Mississippi state record for scoring 82 points in a high school game in the 1940s, while his grandfather, James Burrow was a star point guard at Mississippi State.
Joe’s two older brothers, Jamie and Dan, both played football for their father’s alma mater, Nebraska.
Burrow is famously protective of his privacy, particularly when it comes to his family, and is equally close-lipped about his girlfriend, Olivia Holzmacher. The couple have been together since their college days together in Ohio. Maintaining the relationship through his transfer to LSU, covid restrictions, his Heisman Trophy run, through injury and his first Super Bowl appearance.
Net worth
Burrows has enjoyed a meteoric rise since being selected by a long-suffering Bengals franchise with the first overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft.
The quarterback said his confidence starts with a strong locker room culture where every player on the team has the utmost belief in each other.
“I am not afraid to make mistakes because I know our defence is going to pick us up if we do, so that allows me to go out and play freely and not be scared to throw an interception or miss a throw,” said Burrows.
“And our defence plays the same way knowing that the offence is going to pick them up if they are down, and so I think we just play great team football together and that starts with the culture in the locker room.”
According to Celebrity Net Worth, the 25-year-old is worth $10 million. This is based on his four-year, $36.19 million contract after being the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NFL draft.
In addition to his Bengals salary, the player has also penned sponsorship deals with brands such as Bose, Nerf, Fanatics and Buffalo Wild Wings.
Burrow’s base salary for this season is $2,255,006 and during his football career, he’s earned approximately $26 million thanks to his signing bonus. His net worth is roughly $10 million, and Burrow has openly claimed that his plan is is to only live off his endorsement money, saving his on-field earnings for retirement.