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By Mallory Mattingly
Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix’s daughter might only be a few months old, but he’s already teaching what really matters in life: Jesus.
“You won’t remember last season. You won’t remember Lutz’s game-winner against the Chiefs, Nik’s game-saving stop against the Commanders, or J-Mac’s incredible interception and Marvin’s TD catch against the Bills,” Nix wrote in a letter shared by the Players’ Tribune. “You won’t remember our crazy comebacks, our win streak, or the deafening roar of our fans at Mile High.”
Riley Nix was born on February 25, which also happens to be her dad’s birthday.
Related: Rookie NFL QB Bo Nix Drafted to Denver: ‘God Has a Plan’
“You won’t remember us being Overdogs,” he continued. “You also won’t remember the cameras zooming in on me during the AFC Championship Game, sitting in a suite with a boot. You won’t remember how close we were to the Super Bowl, or how badly I wanted to be out there with my teammates.”
He wants his daughter to hear about those moments from his perspective.
“I want you to know how I’ve leaned on my faith in Jesus and our family to keep moving forward,” the quarterback continued. “Not just in the context of this season, but as a man, a husband, an athlete, and now as a father.”
“Our season didn’t end the way I thought it would. I broke my ankle one step away from the Super Bowl,” he said. At the time, he posted that “God never says oops, and he is always good,” though he was extremely disappointed.
“It hurt. Bad. Not just physically,” Nix added in his letter. “It hurt because I love playing the game with my teammates. It hurt because we’ve built something really special. It hurt because when you’re that close to something you’ve dreamed about your whole life, you don’t want it taken out of your hands.”
As Nix and his wife, Izzy, waited for Riley’s arrival, he struggled to be present and still. His mind was on Riley, Izzy and football.
“And after you arrived…well, suddenly the stillness didn’t feel miserable anymore,” he revealed. “It felt like a gift. I got to be there. Fully there. Not thinking about the next drive or the next season. I was able just to hold you and listen to you breathe. I already knew your mom was the strongest, most incredible woman — but watching her become your mother and figuring out how to take care of both of us at our most vulnerable moments made me appreciate her in a whole new way.”
He hopes to teach his daughter that putting her identity in Christ is the best decision.
“I’ve learned that the chip can’t become your identity. It breaks too easily. It’s too fragile. My relationship with Jesus Christ, however, is not. He is my identity,” the quarterback said.
Back in college, before Nix led Auburn to a National Championship, he was benched earlier in the season, which felt humiliating. However, Izzy sent him two songs, “Reason to Praise” and “I Belong to Jesus” by Bethel Music.
“Those songs changed my life. Jesus Christ had changed my life. I had finally learned and understood my identity was not in the game of football. It couldn’t be,” he said. “The highs can never sustain you, and the lows can shatter you. But Jesus Christ will never let you down. I can put my faith in the hope and foundation of him. I can live in that freedom. I can live with that identity. I am a child of God.”
Bo learned that his “value isn’t tied to a depth chart, a draft position, an injury report, or a stat line.”
“I belong to Jesus, and I always have a reason to praise Him,” he shared.
No matter what she may face in life, no matter what the devil may try to tell her, no matter what the world will tell her, Nix wants his daughter to know she is a child of the most-high God.
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