One of the sports world’s preeminent power couples has welcomed their first child.
Arizona Cardinals tight end Zach Ertz and US women’s national soccer team midfielder Julie Ertz announced the birth of their son, Madden Matthew Ertz on Thursday.
Madden (obviously an interesting choice of name for the son of a professional football player) was born a week earlier on Aug. 11, per Julie’s Instagram, coming in at 22 inches and 8.2 pounds.
The Ertzs’ relationship goes back to college, when Zach was an All-American at Stanford and Julie was an All-American at Santa Clara. The two met at a Stanford baseball game in 2012 and have been together ever since, getting married in 2017.
Along the way, Julie became a stalwart defensive midfielder for the USWNT and Chicago Red Stars, with a trophy case including two World Cup championships, two US Soccer Female Player of the Year awards, two FIFA Women’s World XI honors, an NWSL Rookie of the Year award and an Olympic bronze medal.
Meanwhile, Zach is a three-time Pro Bowler and won Super Bowl LII with the Philadelphia Eagles. His nine-season tenure in Philadelphia came to an end last season with a trade to the Cardinals, where he signed a three-year, $31.7 million extension earlier this year.
He’s already feeling the support from head coach Kliff Kingsbury:
“That kid has got a standing scholarship to whatever NAIA school I’m coaching at in 18 years.”