Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen might be the most famous and beloved player his city has ever seen.
But everywhere outside the 716 area code, Allen said it’s his wife, Hailee Steinfeld, who earns that honor.
Allen opened up about his wife and growing family this week, saying that their new daughter is the biggest motivation in his life. The Bills quarterback also made a revealing admission about their personal fame, admitting that his Marvel movie star wife is bigger than him everywhere outside of Buffalo.
Josh Allen Admits Hailee Steinfeld is More Famous
Speaking to ESPN, Allen said he learned early in their relationship that Steinfeld was the bigger draw among the power couple. The former child actress — who won an Academy Award when she was just 14 years old — is famous across the world, Allen learned.
“Anyplace else in the world but here and it’s absolutely her,” Allen said when asked which of them was more famous. “It was obvious when we went to Paris a few years ago. Nobody there knows football very well, but they know movie stars and they know pop stars, and my wife just happens to be both.”
Allen remains beloved in Buffalo, and teammate Dion Dawkins predicted he would stick with the Bills for the rest of his life.
“Josh stays here, that’s why,” Dawkins said. ”You stay in Buffalo, Buffalo humbles you. He doesn’t rush to New York City to sit courtside. He doesn’t rush to Vegas to a fight. He stays right here in western New York, in his kingdom, and just chills.”
Josh Allen Gushes over Hailee Steinfeld, Daughter Harper
Steinfeld and Allen tied the knot in a ceremony last year, then this May welcomed their first child, a daughter named Harper. Allen said becoming a father has changed his life, and rearraged his priorities.
“I think it’s made everything, not just football but everything in life, feel less important,” Allen says. “My wife and daughter are my No. 1 priority. If they’re OK, I’m OK. It doesn’t matter what else is going on in my life, and that frees me up, 100%, to be the best teammate I can be. I just come out here and play football and have fun.”
Allen added that his family has become his biggest motivation, though he is still driven by the goal of bringing a Lombardi Trophy to the city that endured a four-year stretch of Super Bowl losses in the early 1990s.
The Bills quarterback could be headed for another big personal honor as well. Though the NFL season is still young, Allen has climbed to the top of the MVP race after accounting for nine total touchdowns through the first two weeks, a span of just five days for the Bills after their Thursday Night Football win over the Detroit Lions.
Bills QB Josh Allen Makes Admission About Wife Hailee Steinfeld