Photo: Greg Olsen Instagram
NFL broadcasterGreg Olsenwears many hats: He’s a retired NFL tight end, sports analyst and volunteer baseball coach, but most importantly, he is a husband and father.
Greg has been married to his wife Kara Olsen since 2009 after meeting each other while students at the University of Miami. Since then, the couple have welcomed three children together: son Tate and twins, Talbot and T.J. The family also has a German Shepherd,Tuck.
After 14 years in the NFL, Greg retired to become a broadcaster in 2021. He spent the majority of his career with the Carolina Panthers, although he played his final football season with the Seattle Seahawks in 2020.
In March 2022, the NFL commentator and his wife Kara celebrated their 13th wedding anniversary. He marked the occasion onInstagram, writing, “Atleast one of us looks the same 😂 Happy 13th anniversary to my best friend! @karaolsen29 ❤️,” alongside a photo from their wedding day and a more recent picture.
The former Carolina Panther also served as FOX Sport’s lead NFL analyst during the2023 Super Bowlon Feb. 12, 2023, where the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Philadelphia Eagles.
Here’s everything to know about Greg Olsen’s wife and kids.
He met his wife Kara at the University of Miami
Greg Olsen Instagram
Greg and Kara met when they were both freshmen at the University of Miami, where Kara (who was 17 at the time and Greg was 18) caught Greg’s eye in a pair of shorts.
“She had short shorts on. They said ‘CANES’ across the butt. … I remember them. I remember you in them,” he toldThe Charlotte Observerin 2019.
“I remember [Greg] sat outside the dorms and watched as I left and asked me what time I was going to be back,” Kara recalled to theObserver.
The future NFL pro then asked Kara out on a date, and the two had dinner at PF Chang’s and then saw the movieMean Girls.
“We’re kind of boring,” Kara told the outlet. “I don’t know how exciting our love story is.”
He and Kara have three kids
After tying the knot in 2009, Greg and Kara went on to have three children together. Their first son, Tate, was born around the time Greg was traded to the Carolina Panthers from the Chicago Bears.
Not long after, the couple welcomed twins, daughter Tate and son T.J.
His older son Tate is a big sports fan
Like his dad, Tate loves football. Tateplays Pop Warner football, and Greg shared on Instagram in November 2022 that Tate’s team won a city championship.
He alsoplays baseball with his brother, T.J. Their dad Greg is also a volunteer baseball coach for Tate’s team, according toESPN. Greg shared a tribute to Tate’shard work as a baseball player(he’s a pitcher) on Instagram in July 2021.
“I typically don’t post about my kids playing sports. Every now and then though we share an experience that is too good not to share,” he wrote in part. “I am so proud of Tate and his entire team for all they accomplished. The hard work, personal sacrifice, struggles and triumphs are teaching these boys the lessons only sports can teach you.”
He added, “Being a dad can be stressful and full of doubt. But man is it fun!!”
In July 2023, Tate’s baseball team won the Easton Elite World Series in Florida.
“What a great ending to a great season,” Greg wrote onInstagram. “11 games. 10-1 record.”
His son T.J. underwent a heart transplant in 2021
T.J. was born on Oct. 9, 2012, with a rare heart condition called hypoplastic left heart syndrome. This condition meant that T.J. was born with half a heart, which required him to undergo multiple surgeries throughout his life. In May 2021, T.J. was admitted to the hospital for heart failure and wasadded to the heart transplant list.
Greg’s younger son laterfound a donor match, and the NFL commentator shared asweet videoof T.J. telling his siblings the good news.
Ultimately, T.J. received a heart transplant on June 4, 2021. Three days after his surgery, T.J.shared a message on social mediaon his dad Greg’s Instagram.
Two weeks later,T.J. got to ring the bell at the hospitaland Gregshared a videoof the happy event on Instagram, writing, “Ever since TJ was admitted into the ICU a little less than a month ago in heart failure, we would lay in bed at night and talk about ‘ringing the bell.’ We didn’t know what that journey would look like or how long it would take, but he promised @karaolsen29 and I that he was going to ring it.”
In October 2022, T.J.met one of his football idols, Green Bay Packers quarterbackAaron Rogers, one year after his heart transplant. T.J. also enjoys playingfootballandbaseball.
He celebrated his daughter’s 10th birthday with a daddy-daughter trip
Talbot is Greg and Kara’s only daughter. For her 10th birthday in October 2022, Kara joined her father on aspecial birthday trip to Los Angeles. “Celebrated my little girl turning 10 w/ my team @nflonfox this weekend in LA. What a fun trip for the two of us to spend quality time together on the road! #girldad ,” he wrote alongside a photo of the father-daughter duo sitting behind the announcer’s desk.
In June 2021, Talbot and her brother T.J.celebrated their first communionbefore T.J. underwent his heart transplant. She alsoloves to swimandenjoys boat outings. She is even ayouth cheerleader.
He and Kara run a foundation together
The couple founded The Heartest Yard Foundation, a family relief program for pediatric cardiovascular patients, in 2013 following T.J.’s diagnosis.
“While we are in the hospital we make sure it is clear that we are only there as T.J.’s family,” Greg told PEOPLE in 2016. “We enjoy getting to know the other families and being a support system for one another.” He continued, “We have received just as much support as we have given over the years. The [congenital heart defect] family network is incredibly strong and tight knit. It is something truly special.”
Pediatric cardiology nurse Kari Crawford also told PEOPLE of the foundation, “It allows parents the opportunity to have some peace of mind while home that they have someone to help them out — allows them to be normal with other children.”
He and Kara enjoy doing yoga together
Greg and his wife share a love of fitness and have documented their exercises over the years. In 2017, Kara posted avideo of her and her son riding Peloton bikes together.
She also brought Greg to a core-centric workout yoga class at Hilliard Studio Method with her in 2020, which he opened up about onTwitter. “UPDATE: Husband is exhausted,” he tweeted following the class.
“I don’t mind being with a bunch of chicks,” Greg toldThe Charlotte Observerof doing yoga with his wife in the off-season. “I’m around boys non-stop. I’m totally cool having a break from dudes.”
He and his wife have a “bucket list” of things they want to do together
Kevin Mazur/WireImage
In 2019 — when Greg was still playing for the Carolina Panthers — he and Kara discussed their relationship withThe Charlotte Observer. “Greg and I have always found a good balance,” she told the outlet. “In his moments of weakness, I try to step in. In my moments of weakness, he’s always done a good job of stepping in. When we see older couples we joke about what we’ll do once the kids are out of the house and we both retire from whatever we do after football. We want to travel. We like to eat. We have a long bucket list of things we want to do together.”
Greg added, “We are very lucky. But there’s no perfect story. This is not a movie.”
source: people.com
