The holiday season is always fun around the NFL. For one, because the playoffs are just around the corner, but gift giving to teammates is also a fun staple of the season. NFL players have a lot of money, and in the ultimate team game, they have a lot to owe to their teammates who help enable them to be great.
Russell Wilson appears to be playing Santa Claus this afternoon to his teammates. John Leglue posted a package of gifts that he received from Wilson on his Instagram story.
UPDATE (5:54 PM): The Steelers’ Twitter account shared a video of the gifts, including a pair of custom shoes to every Steelers’ play and coaches in black and gold.
This is a common trend in the NFL for quarterbacks to give their teammates or their offensive lines extravagant gifts for a job well done. Patrick Mahomes was estimated to have spent $100,000 on Christmas gifts for his offensive line this year with Rolex watches, Yeti coolers, cowboys boots and more.
I have no clue how much Wilson spent, but Louis Vuitton is a designer brand for leather goods. Those could be handbags or shoes, which can exceed the $1,000 mark or much more depending on what’s in the bag. We can also see right off the top that Leglue, and presumably the other players he gave gifts to, received a $10,000 gift card to Airbnb. Given that it’s an oversized check for Airbnb, I would assume this is some kind of partnership arrangement that Wilson has with them.
Good Man Brand in the box at the bottom is likely a pair of luxury leather shoes. That company was co-founded by Russell Wilson.
The Ten To One rum in the bottom right of the gift package is a company that is co-owned by Wilson’s wife, Ciara.
This is one of the benefits of having your quarterback be a 13-year veteran of the NFL with multiple super contracts to his name. Being married to superstar performing artist and entrepreneur Ciara doesn’t hurt, either. This was certainly a generous gift to his teammates. Keep in mind that the Steelers are paying him just $1.21 million this year because the Denver Broncos picked up the rest of the tab.
It’s unclear at this time which teammates received the gift package. Presumably the offensive line at the very least. Leglue was elevated for one game this season, but has not played a snap for the Steelers in 2024. He has been on and off the practice squad since late August. He wasn’t on the team for the last month up until Dec. 17 when he was brought back to the practice squad.
I will update this post with any further information.
