Pro athletes’ romantic partners usually enter the imagination at three points: through media coverage of power couples (Russell and Ciara; Tom and Gisele, Travis and Taylor), fictionalizations like the early aughts dramedy “The Game,” or reality fare like the Real Housewives’ franchise, which maximizes drama more than it grants insight into cast members’ lives.

Ask Jassi Harris (formerly Rideaux), wife of the New England Patriots’ linebacker Darius Harris, though, and she’ll tell you there is a real life to being a housewife to a football player, especially one who’s had an injury-marred season as his team heads to the Super Bowl. If you immediately recognize her name before her husband’s, it’s a bit of a nod to what she means. Yes, she’s that Jassi Harris,  “Real Housewives of Potomac” cast member, and her husband, rather than being among the players introduced with the Patriots’ starting lineup, won’t even be in uniform for Sunday’s game, having been placed on practice squad injured reserve in November after playing on the AFC champions’ active roster the previous three weeks.

NFL life is grueling, especially so for players who aren’t guaranteed roster spots or big contracts. There’s always life after to think about, with the caveat that after could be tomorrow or next week. Being a life partner to such a man, while not forsaking your own entrepreneurial or philanthropic interests, demands a unique fortitude.

“I've watched him over the past few years get up every morning at 5 AM, and not come home until after 5 [pm] and just be passionate about the sports, also doing things outside of work,” Harris said. “And to have an injury…because someone accidentally tripped you, now you're hurt, now you have to stay at home and not do what you're passionate about. You know, it'll be hard for anyone.”

Harris is relaying this truth over Zoom from the passenger seat in a chauffeured SUV, navigating the 45-minute drive from San Jose, where many of this year’s off-field Super Bowl events are being held, and Santa Clara, where the actual game will be played at Levi’s Stadium on Saturday. The distance has brought logistical challenges. Harris has multiple events to attend–Media Day, the NFL Honors awards, and hosting the NFL Wives Association Super Bowl Lounge, which means multiple wardrobe, hair, and makeup changes, which means she’s traveling with a team.

If it sounds like being a WAG–an acronym for wives and girlfriends of pro athletes–comes with privileges, it does. Harris admits with a huge smile, for example, that for their wedding last year, she wore three custom-designed dresses.

But, she says, there’s purpose in the glamour of it all. It’s all about setting up for life after. She and Harris live with the awareness that life after is coming. The average NFL career is only 3.5 years long, and Darius Harris, 30, has already been in the league twice that long. He has three Super Bowl rings from his years with the Kansas City Chiefs, with whom he signed as an undrafted free agent in 2019, but Spotrac, which tracks players' contracts, pegs his career earnings at $3.8 million. It’s better than, say, a writer’s salary, but not the eight or nine-figure generational wealth that many imagine when they think of professional athletes.

And so, even though Harris won’t play, Harris and her beau see the Super Bowl for the opportunities it might bring in the future.

“You know, my husband may go into business with someone that he met at Super Bowl,” she said. “It's not just about the parties. It's about being a part of the NFL in ways that go far beyond the NFL.”

Harris, she says, has talked about continuing his education after his playing days. The pair established the Triple F Foundation (Faith, Family, Football), which worked with Boys & Girls Clubs to provide mentorship and free football camps for youth. Harris owns an eponymous brand of hair extensions, but even being on the retail side of that business wasn’t enough. Instead, she says, she took advantage of the opportunity to travel overseas and establish source relationships that allowed her to move into manufacturing and distribution. It’s a rare move for a Black woman entrepreneur in a beauty industry segment that relies heavily on Black dollars.

Even the multiple wedding dresses had a point beyond getting great pics for socials. Her wedding planner (Shamica Sweat), stylist (Dor Ameir), and dress designer (Hozae Atelier), are all Black entrepreneurs; when the wedding made the website of People and Essence, so did their names.

“I also am very passionate about putting people in position to have a spotlight,” she said. “it's not just about me wanting to showcase four different dresses, it's about my whole team being able to have this opportunity with me. I was their muse.”