Joe Burrow wasn’t supposed to be the only football star in his family. The Cincinnati Bengals quarterback, who was the first overall selection in the 2020 NFL Draft, comes from a household where gridiron success runs deep.
While Burrow led the Bengals to their first postseason win since 1990 and an appearance in Super Bowl LVI, his two older brothers paved the way years before he ever took a snap.
Who Are Joe Burrow’s Brothers and Where Did They Play?
The Burrow family isn’t known for just producing a top-tier NFL quarterback in Joe. Burrow also has a pair of older brothers, Jamie and Dan, who both played collegiate football themselves.
Both brothers are much older than Joe. When he was born in 1996, Jamie was a high school senior, while Dan was a freshman. Both brothers attended their young adult years in Iowa, where their father, Jimmy, had accepted a coaching job coaching the defensive backs at Iowa State University in 1987.
Following their father’s footsteps in football, they both played college football at the University of Nebraska. Jamie was a star linebacker from 1997 to 2001 and earned recognition by being awarded second-team All-Big 12 honors during his senior season.
Dan’s college playing career at Nebraska lasted from 2000 to 2004. After their football careers ended, both brothers transitioned into medical sales.
What Do Joe Burrow’s Brothers Think About His NFL Success?
Jamie is married to Codie, and they have a son, James, and a daughter, Bowen. They live in Omaha, Nebraska, where he is an investor in one of the top restaurants in the area.
Meanwhile, Dan is married to Jama, whom he met when traveling to watch Joe’s third career start for the LSU Tigers in 2018.
During an interview with The New York Times in 2019, Jamie hailed Joe’s football acumen along with his leadership skills.
“He has all of our strength and none of our weaknesses,” he said. “Joe got all the football IQ, competitive drive, leadership and intelligence. And then he got another level of athletic build and skill set.”
Jamie and Dan Burrow are so proud of their brother, #LSU quarterback Joe Burrow, who is leading the Tigers to a hot start in 2019. pic.twitter.com/AzxwQT5p3w
— Jacques Doucet (@JacquesDoucet) September 21, 2019
As far as Joe’s rise in the NFL, Jamie admitted that it had previously crossed his mind.
“This would be on the upper end of what we thought was possible, but I’d be lying to you if I said I thought it could never be a scenario.”
Joe, who won the Heisman Trophy as quarterback of the Tigers, actually helped bring the family closer together.
“It’s been special for so many reasons. It really has brought our family closer,” said Dan. “We are so spread out in Texas, Ohio, Nebraska, Louisiana that I’ve probably seen my dad and my brothers more this year than in any two- or three-year period over the last 15 years.”
