Buffalo’s favorite athlete is getting ready for a different kind of offseason this year, one that will find him healing from a broken bone in his foot and welcoming his first child with wife Hailee Steinfeld. On Thursday, January 29, 2026, Bills superstar Josh Allen opened up on his offseason plans, revealing that his perspective on his football legacy has shifted far beyond what happens on the football field. While he remains focused on bringing a Super Bowl to the city of Buffalo and the Bills Mafia, Allen confessed that he is most looking forward to the title of “Dad,” knowing that it will be the most important job of his life:
“I’ve known this from well in advance, I’ve got siblings that have kids, I’ve got a lot of friends that have kids and I don’t know if you can play too far in advance. I’m very much looking forward to that with my wife, becoming a dad. It’s something that I will take with great pride and we’re gonna have to figure things out on the go just like anything else.
This is the most important thing I’ll ever be in my life, is being a dad. I love being a football player and I love being a quarterback for the Buffalo Bills, but I’m looking forward to this one.”
Well said… and especially in 2026, where there seems to be this odd apprehension to having kids, although it is an apprehension that seems to fall along party lines. More liberal leaning people are having less children on average, citing the growing economic challenges, lack of personal autonomy that comes with having children, the climate (and other irrational fears), among other things. Conservatives on the other hand, seem more pro family, advocating for having more children, advocating against abortion… and the numbers back it up. Polls show that liberal women don’t believe having children is a big factor in personal success. Conservative men call it the #1 indicator of personal success. Interesting, right?
According to a recent article in USA Today, professor of sociology at the University of Virginia and a senior fellow at IFS, Brad Wilcox, says liberal families are having children much later than conservatives:
“While the number of conservative and liberal women, ages 25-35, with children was fairly similar (65% and 60%, respectively) in the 1980s, that gap has grown sizably. Wilcox and his IFS coauthor Grant Bailey discovered that in the 2020s, only 40% of liberal women between the ages of 25 and 35 reported being parents. Meanwhile, 71% of conservative women in this age group say they are parents – a 31 point gap.”
Of course, Josh has no financial issues when it comes to having children. He could go full Phillip Rivers and have 10 if he wanted to without a second thought about the cost or if he could afford it. But to hear him call fatherhood “the most important thing” he’ll ever be, in a world that seemingly has a sharp divide on the importance of fatherhood is significant. In a world so focused on individual success, and Josh has accomplished more than most, I love hearing the truth about families proclaimed on the world stage.
As a father of two myself, it’s unquestionably the most important thing I’ll ever do in my life. I’ve been successful in my work, have accomplished a lot of personal goals, have a great wife, have a nice house, good friends, tons of hobbies, I’ve traveled around the world… and it’s all meaningless compared to having children. My kids are the single greatest joy of my life. Full stop. And look, it’s not for everyone, I get it… that’s fine. But society thrives when its people find meaning and purpose outside of themselves. Society thrives when families are strong… and arguably the best quarterback in the NFL right now knows it.
