Getty
Bills quarterback Josh Allen and Hailee Steinfeld are close friends with Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold and his future bride, Katie Hoofnagle.
Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills are once again watching the Super Bowl from home. However, Allen is thrilled to see one of his best friends, Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold, make it to the big game.
Allen made it clear he’s rooting for Darnold to take down the New England Patriots on February 8. “I have great respect for both teams,“ Allen said during an appearance on “First Things First.”
“I’ve been fortunate to know [Patriots head] Coach [Mike] Vrabel for a little bit. I have a lot of respect for him. [Patriots quarterback] Drake Maye, obviously. I’ve got a good relationship with him. But Sam Darnold, that’s my boy. We go back to the draft.”
Allen and Darnold were roommates while training in San Clemente, California, ahead of the 2018 NFL draft. Allen became the Bills’ No. 7 overall pick while Darnold went to the New York Jets at No. 3.
GettyBills quarterbacks Josh Allen, left, and Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold are best friends.
“Even before the draft, we’ve hung out before the draft, when we were in college, we met at, I think, it was the Touchdown Club of Columbus, going into his sophomore year, my junior year. And like I said, we lived pretty close together. We spent a lot of time in the offseason together playing golf and hanging out. So I’m rooting for my man there, who wears No. 14 for the Seattle Seahawks.”
When Allen and his wife, Hailee Steinfeld, tied the knot in Santa Barbara in May, Darnold and his fiancée, Katie Hoofnagle, were in attendance. When Darnold and Hoofnagle get married, fans can expect to see Allen and Steinfeld as special guests.
Josh Allen Is Expected to Join Sam Darnold’s Bachelor Party & Attend the Seahawks QB’s Wedding to Future Wife, Katie Hoofnagle
Darnold, who’s dated Hoofnagle since 2023, proposed in July. The couple immediately celebrated with an engagement party in Dana Point, California, with guests that included Allen and Steinfeld. The celebration came just two months after Allen and Steinfeld’s nuptials.
Darnold also attended Allen’s bachelor party in March, which consisted of a small crew of the Bills star’s closest friends. During the low-key bash, they attended a TGL match between Tiger Woods’ Jupiter Links Golf Club and Atlanta Drive GC on March 4.
Fans can expect Allen to be a part of Darnold’s bachelor party, as well. The only thing that may keep him away is if the dates coincide with Steinfeld’s due date, as she’s pregnant with the couple’s first baby.
Sam Darnold Started as a Much Bigger Star Than Josh Allen Ahead of the 2018 NFL Draft
GettyJosh Allen #17 of the Buffalo Bills shares an embrace with former New York Jets quarterback Sam Darnold.
Allen is undeniably one of the most recognizable faces in the NFL. After winning the MVP Award and signing a record-breaking new contract with Buffalo last year, his face is everywhere. It’s impossible to watch an NFL game and not see several commercials starring the 29-year-old quarterback.
Before the 2018 NFL draft, however, it was Darnold who was set to be the league’s biggest star. While Allen was relatively unknown in 2017, Darnold had led USC to a Rose Bowl victory as a redshirt freshman and won the Archie Griffin Award.
“They just invited the top college players to watch for the next season,” Allen recalled of the Archie Griffin Award dinner to ESPN in 2019. “Sam got, like, the biggest award possible and I was just [someone for them to say], ‘Hey, watch this guy, too.’”
“Just talking with [Darnold’s] parents, they were super down to earth, they were very interested in my story and where I came from,” Allen added. “[Me and Sam] kind of jelled, we understood what position each was in. Obviously, he was a little bigger scale at USC.”
Emily Bicks covers the NFL for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Bills, Seahawks and Chiefs. She’s contributed to Heavy since 2019 and has interviewed some of the biggest stars in sports, including Jerry Rice, Shaquille O’Neal and Stefon Diggs. More about Emily Bicks
More Heavy on Bills
Loading more stories