As soon as the leaves change, in comes football to take over our televisions. Gone are our regularly scheduled programming on Sundays, Mondays and even Thursdays. It can be hell when all you want is The Big Bang Theory but football is on.
However, while the sport may be a pain in the TV-watching butt — it’s not all bad when you look at the big picture. A lot of those players are hotter than a summer day in the middle of the desert. If someone would’ve alerted us before, then maybe we wouldn’t have complained and moaned about football all these years. Now let’s take a look at the hottest football players that make us VERY interested in the game.
16. Brandon McManus
The Denver Broncos may’ve lost their leading man some years ago when Peyton Manning retired, but that didn’t halter their hotness. Placekicker Brandon McManus is holding the flame for the Mile-High players. According to his Instagram, he’s not only hot but also a foodie. So the perfect man does exist?
15. Antonio Brown
If there’s one man who can lead the Pittsburgh Steelers to the Super Bowl, it’s Antonio Brown. He’s a madman on the field. It’s like magic watching him play. It’s even more magical watching him smile though. Some fell in love with him on the field, some fell in love while he starred on Dancing with the Stars where he made it to the top four and danced with Sharna Burgess. You read the right: not only is he an A+ player and complete hunk, he can also DANCE.
14. Travis Kelce
A third-round pick in the NFL Draft back in 2013, Travis Kelce now plays for the Kansas City Chiefs. One of their trusted tight ends, Travis branched out of the NFL for a second to have his own dating show entitled Catching Kelce. Where was my invite? It wouldn’t matter anyway since he’s currently dating HotNewHipHop reporter Kayla Nicole.
13. Marcus Mariota
This Hawaiian-born quarterback plays hard as he can during the season for the Tennessee Titans. He’s been with them since they drafted him second in 2015 after impressing at the University of Oregon. Yeah, we don’t hear about the Titans winning too often nowadays but at least they’re led by one handsome guy! He’s tied with Peyton Manning for having at least three touchdown passes by an NFL rookie so that’s pretty impressive too!
12. Eric Decker
Hmm, should the Titans be our new favorite team? Maybe so because first Marcus Mariota and now his teammate Eric Decker both make our list! Yeah, we’re buying a jersey right now — don’t worry. We can’t decide between Mariota’s #8 and Decker’s #87. We’ll just get both because this wide receiver has our hearts just as much as his QB does. Sadly, this guy’s off the market, having married country singer Jessie James Decker in 2013. The pair has two children already and is expecting a third soon!
11. Odell Beckham Jr.
Known for his epic one-handed catch that landed him on the cover of Madden 16, Odell Beckham Jr. is one of our favorite reasons to watch football. While the epic catch is why fans of the sport know him, we know him a bit better for that hot bleached hair and even hotter physique. We also made mental note of him when there were rumors swirling in 2016 that he was dating Zendaya. They hung out a bit but now people are saying she’s with her Spider-Man costar Tom Holland. As for Odell? Well, we’re available.
10. Brandon Coleman
Rutgers is where Brandon Coleman got his start. He was in the 2014 NFL Draft but got passed over. After spending very little time as a free agent, he was picked up by the New Orleans Saints that same year — so you know he’s loyal, because he’s been with the team ever since. He’s a wide reciever and, get this — he’s six-foot-six! That’s one tall dude!
9. J.J. Watt
One of youngest teams in the league, the Houston Texans are usually on fire thanks to J.J. Watt. He’s got this larger than life build that makes us want to climb him like a tree. He’s also from a family nof footballers: his younger brothers Derek Watt and T.J. Watt play for the Los Angeles Chargers and Pittsburg Steelers, respectively, as a fullback and lineback. Mad football skills isn’t the only thing that runs in the family, either, good looks do too!
8. Emmanuel Sanders
The former Steelers player and current Bronco has been a huge part of the league since 2010. That’s seven years of keeping the NFL h-o-t as a wide receiver. Seven years of his fresh fashion, too (dare you to take a look at his Instagram!). Seven years of that smoldering look on the field. Obsessed.
7. Julian Edelman
This Kent State alum has spent his whole career with the New England Patriots — and BTW, he’s been in the NFL since 2009 so it’s been no short stint. In that time he’s taken home two Super Bowl wins and our hearts while he’s been at it. The Patriots really make it hard to pay attention to the game with all those attractive men on their sidelines. Just saying!
6. Ezekiel Elliott
If Chance The Rapper worked out every day for a year, he’d probably look something like Ezekiel Elliott. RIGHT?! This Dallas Cowboy and running back, he’s caused quite the stir by rocking crop tops ever since being drafted in 2016. Hell, when you have those kinds of abs… why hide ’em? We aren’t upset over those tops, at all.
5. Danny Amendola
Since 2008, Danny Amendola has been a part of four powerhouse teams. His time on the Cowboys and Eagles were during their off-season but he played in the big leagues on the Rams until 2012 and then hopped over to the Pats soon after. If you need any hard proof that this guy is fine as hell, he was recently signed by Ford models — making him the first National Football League player that the modeling agency has ever signed.
4. DeAndré Washington
Where has DeAndré Washington been hiding? Apparently at Texas Tech until 2016 when the Oakland Raiders picked him up as their running back. A handsome 24-year-old, he’s still a bit of a newbie in the game, but we’re sure he’ll be around a long time… Which means we’ll be watching just as long.
3. Andrew Sendejo
Okay, was it just us or was every hot athlete in college only ever sporting track pants and a tee-shirt? I guess once you make it to the big leagues, you swap the sweats out for some seriously swaggy clothing. I mean, just cruise his IG to look at the style of this strong safety. While he now holds it down for the Minnesota Vikings, he was also signed by the Sacramento Mountain Lions, the Dallas Cowboys, and the New York Jets in the past.
2. Colin Kaepernick
Technically Colin Kaepernick isn’t playing right now. He’s living the free agent life after the San Francisco 49ers decided to let him go. Actually, he’s filed a grievance against the NFL saying that they colluded to keep him off of any team after he protested during the National Anthem last season. While many football players made headlines for doing such this year, he was pretty much the only one did it last year as a way to bring awareness to police brutality in America. Aside from his obviously looks, we also like a guy who stands (or rather, kneels) for what he believes in. Even after the matter, he’s still fighting. Now that’s a good man.
1. Aaron Rodgers
Even people who aren’t into football know about this QB. Yes, we know he’s a total hottie but it’s actually through his connection to ABC’s The Bachelorette that many learned a lot about him. Basically, during Jojo Fletcher‘s season, frontrunner Jordan Rodgers talked about how his whole family has pretty much stopped talking to his brother — who just so happened to play football for the Green Bay Packers. Everyone assumed that it had something to do with Aaron’s then-girlfriend Olivia Munn. However, those two recently broke up… does that mean Aaron will finally get to meet Jojo? We don’t know but honestly, all we really care about is that Aaron is back on the market! This season he suffered a pretty bad shoulder injury but is officially cleared by medical professionals to get back on the field. For that, we’re grateful!