“We’re at Work”: CJ Stroud’s Mother Cites Tom Brady to Discuss Friends and Family Members Demanding Game Tickets and Autographs

One of the most common requests every NFL athlete has entertained, at least once, is for game tickets and memorabilia. When you are friends or family to an athlete, it’s assumed that they can easily handle these queries or, as they say, hook you up.

But little do people making these requests know that playing in the NFL is similar to working as an employee for someone. As CJ Stroud’s mother says, the players are basically “at work,” and these requests can interfere with that work.

In the first-ever episode of “The Mom’s POV,” hosted by Kimberly Stroud, the mother of the Texans quarterback, she pointed out the ignorance of people who constantly hover around athletes for tickets and autographs. She made it clear that, unlike the popular perception, playing for an NFL team is a full-time job; the players are contractual employees.

So, each time someone asks for a ticket, the player has to bear the cost for it. While the players earn enough to not mind buying a ticket or two per game, what Kim took issue with was some people crossing boundaries in their quest for special treatment.

She cited Tom Brady’s famous quote about this issue to give such people a reality check. For those out of context, Brady once questioned how the ones asking for free tickets would feel if someone would go to their workplace and stand in front of them for photos and autographs. For Kimberly, this basic empathy is what she expects from fans, friends, and families.

“l love how Tom Brady said it the best. He said we’re [athletes] at work. So do people go to your job and do they want pictures and autographs at your job? There’s a level of understanding that everyone has to have, but they don’t always have, because they look at it more like a fan,” she said.

However, this is easier said than done. While athletes can run away from fan interactions and requests, it’s dealing with the loved ones that pose a challenge.

In CJ’s case, saying no to his friends’ requests is a hassle for him due to how loyal he is in relationships. While the Texans QB, with time, has learned to educate the ones around him of his boundaries, Kim believed that as a parent, it is also her responsibility to step in and help.

“He’s just a very loyal person. So I think it’s been a journey for him too, learning how to let them know I’m at work, like ‘I would love to do this and that but I’m at work’… From our mom’s point of view, we should see it and try to be that boundary and help through that process and kind of tell people when it’s okay and not.”

This is a highly relevant conversation from Kim Stroud, who discussed it with her co-host, Monica Daniels, the mother of Arizona Cardinals offensive lineman Paris Johnson Jr. Surely, she can fully relate to the situation.