Is Blake Proehl Related to Ricky Proehl? Exploring the American Idol Sensation’s NFL Connection

The football season might have come to an end, but the American Idol season is just starting. And surprisingly, the NFL world’s latest favorite story has emerged from the latter. The story of Blake Proehl, a former wide receiver for the Minnesota Vikings, is bringing tears to many eyes, including pop star Katy Perry’s.

Born to 2x Super Bowl champion Ricky Proehl, Blake had his eyes set on a similarly illustrious NFL career, but it was not to be. After going undrafted in the 2021 draft, he signed with the Vikings but injured his knee and was placed on IR. He was later activated, then waived, and re-signed to the practice squad.

After tearing his patellar tendon, ACL, meniscus, and MCL, he started practicing the guitar. He then went viral on TikTok for a video with his nana, surprising her with his musical abilities. And he has now made it all the way to the American Idol.

Blake Proehl Strikes Gold at American Idol

Serenading the judges with his story and a beautiful rendition of Brett Young’s ‘In Case You Didn’t Know,’ alongside his nana, Blake Proehl brought tears to Katy Perry’s eyes, and his singing voice had her breakout in goosebumps. During the season premiere of the show, Proehl captivated the judges and the audience with his lovely voice and his heart-touching story.

To top things off, Proehl struck gold at his audition as he was awarded the golden ticket straight to Hollywood. Ryan Seacrest, the host of the show, even tweeted out his congratulations to the musician. The WR’s musical journey started while rehabbing his injury. He discovered his love of music and released his first single in 2022 titled “Falling Into You.”

Proehl is currently a free agent but could end up getting a futures contract and a shot to make a 53-man roster during training camp. With the way his music career is going though, he might not want to.