Sam Darnold is a newly-minted $100 million man after signing with the Seattle Seahawks — and he’s got his girlfriend, Katie Hoofnagle, by his side for the ride.
Darnold, 27, signed a three-year, $100.5 million contract with the Seahawks on March 10, after the quarterback spent last season with the Minnesota Vikings.
In an exclusive interview with Us Weekly, Darnold gushed about how Hoofnagle — who played club soccer at the University of South Carolina — is a stabilizing force during the highs and lows of an NFL season.
“The support [from] my girlfriend is unbelievable,” Darnold told Us at the RX3 2025 Charity Flag Football Tournament at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo, California on Saturday, March 15. “You know, the fact that she just understands it. She’s a former athlete herself, and just gets kind of the grind of everything. When I just want to chill, she’s very up for that, especially during the season.”
However, Darnold joked that Hoofnagle — who has been dating Darnold since 2023 — also helps get him out of the house when the football calendar isn’t as hectic.
“Maybe not so much in the offseason,” he noted. “If she wants to go somewhere and I just want to chill, she’s like, ‘Let’s go out to dinner. We need to go to dinner.’”
Darnold added, “She’s great. She’s always been my biggest supporter. And I love her, and I thank her for that all the time.”
As Darnold prepares to play for his fifth NFL team in six years — after previous stints with the New York Jets, Carolina Panthers and San Francisco 49ers — the third overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft explained how the human aspect of life in the league sometimes gets lost.
“We have lives, we have families, we have everything just like everyone else,” Darnold said. “Whenever we are on a one-year deal, like, yeah, it’s great. I understand playing in the NFL is awesome and I love every second of it. But when you have those one-year deals, which a lot of guys in the NFL are on, you’re always in the back of your head thinking, ‘OK, where am I gonna play next?’”
Darnold said the process of packing up and leaving for a new team every year is even more taxing on players who have families to consider.
“I don’t even have kids of my own, but I know a lot of guys that have kids of their own,” he noted. “And so when you factor that into trying to move and find your way into all these cities, it can be tough.”
With his new destination confirmed, Darnold said he’s “very excited” to get to Seattle, where he will take over the starting quarterback job from Geno Smith, who was traded to the Las Vegas Raiders on March 7.
“I’m at the point where I just want to get there,” Darnold told Us. “I want to get there for OTAs [Organized Team Activities] and spend a bunch of time with my coaches and my teammates.”
The Seahawks are expected to open OTAs in late May or early June.
Darnold played in the charity flag football game to benefit NEGU – The Jessie Rees Foundation, which raises money to help kids fighting childhood cancer.
“They’re just spreading the joy around, trying to give these kids a little bit of joy in their life,” Darnold said of the organization. “It’s just great to see all these charities, all the hard work, philanthropy stuff that everyone out here is doing. It’s incredible.”
With reporting by Mike Vulpo
