With his jet-heeled speed and kinetic catches, joyful “Griddy” touchdown celebrations, and megawatt good guy personality, All-Pro wide receiver Justin Jefferson is all highlights, all the time. Indeed, the 26-year-old Minnesota Vikings ace, who already holds several NFL records, admits he’s prepared all his life to “be a superstar.” Louisiana-born Jefferson also understands he’s at the sharp end of the NFL’s entertainment juggernaut, enthusing that while the scrutiny can get “overwhelming at times,” he humbly welcomes the responsibility of being “one of the faces of the league.”

It’s a handsome face, one that has recently appeared on the 2025 Met Gala red carpet and at last year’s Paris Fashion Week. In the five years since he left college and was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings as the 22nd overall pick, Jefferson has lit up the league with his on-field exploits and his custom diamond-encrusted grills, but Jefferson’s mythos—as an athlete, as a fashion icon, as a personality—proves he has what it takes to join the vanguard of sports stars. To be an elite athlete takes Herculean effort in itself, but, as the sports entertainment industry dominates the entertainment stratosphere yearly, it’s increasingly evident that sports entertainment is inextricable, and more profitable, than Hollywood entertainment. 

There is no question about football’s (and, by extension, Jefferson’s) hand in American economic and cultural output: In 2024, NFL games accounted for 70% of the top 100 most-watched TV programs in the US. The most recent Super Bowl (LIX) became the most-watched program in American television history with an average of 127.7 million viewers. The game reportedly generated $1.25 billion in economic activity for Louisiana, Jefferson’s home state. 

Trust us, corporate bean-counters jump for joy when those numbers blow in. Hollywood has taken notice, airing documentary NFL series like Hard Knocks and A Football Life; while Jefferson appeared in the Netflix series, Receiver.

Jefferson is certainly aware of his role, and he humbly confesses: “I never really played the game to be the richest or to have the most money. It’s something I’m grateful for, but I have a family that doesn’t care about the money as well.”

However, all of this is just the appetizer for the main course: the regular season kickoff. One of the first weekend’s games is a Monday Night Football (MNF) encounter between Jefferson’s Vikings and the Chicago Bears on September 8th: “I’m excited for the season to start back up, and especially for us to have two prime games to start the season off.” 

MNF contests, on national TV, average 15 million viewers and are something to experience live, especially at field level. Having attended an MNF contest in New Jersey myself, the pre-game rituals were intoxicating, with all the lights, cameras and action. The overall sensation was visceral—a slow burn that built from my gut, a shared sense of being part of something bigger. I could almost hear Gladiator’s Russell Crowe bellowing, “Are you not entertained?”

Indeed, NFL entertainers like Jefferson may offer more relevant sustenance to fans than Hollywood performers, because of supporters’ emotional investment in players and teams. This phenomenon is all the more encouraged by Jefferson’s willingness to take selfies with many fans: “I just want to make that unforgettable moment for someone that they can remember for the rest of their lives,” he shares. A moment out of his own day can mean a priceless memory for others. 

Jefferson presently holds the NFL record for most receiving yards in a player’s first five seasons. In those five seasons, he’s also been voted to the Pro Bowl game four times. Consequently, seven-time Super Bowl winner Brady has praised Jefferson: “He goes deep. He goes short. And runs for touchdowns. He is a ridiculous player.”

Those kinds of numbers have helped him earn the dashing sobriquet “Jets” and awarded him some serious paper—at the time that Jefferson signed a four-year, $140 million contract extension in 2024, he became the NFL’s highest-paid non-quarterback. But Jefferson, admittedly, creates separation between himself and the “Jets” persona: “Justin is [who I am] now…I chill, play video games, I be to myself the majority of the time. When I start putting these chains on, put the teeth in…that’s when it starts to become Jets,” he admitted of his dual persona to On3.com.

But before the NFL’s big lights descended upon him, the “Jets” legend began in a working-class home in a NOLA suburb. Both his parents were star basketball players, and Jefferson emphasizes the power of family: “We always made it a priority to eat together every night. So, it was bonding time and getting to understand each other’s emotions and things that were going on throughout the day. So, there was a family-oriented household that I’m grateful for.”

And, he credits his elder brothers, Jordan and Rickey, who both also played LSU football, for setting the table: “I was always a pretty popular kid, just having two older brothers who went to all the same schools that I went to. So, they left a good reputation, and paved the way for me to have a clear mind and path, through school and into the NFL.”

While he had a stellar collegiate career, it was his mother Elaine’s advice that thrust him further into the media spotlight. She knew that football touchdown celebrations (like the Lambeau Leap) have always been a source of delirious joy and the lifeblood that connects players to fans. Jefferson smiles while recalling, “She encouraged me to do something for my touchdown celebrations. She wanted me to entertain and give the fans what they wanted to see.” So, he adapted a dance called the “Griddy”—a touchdown celebration characterized by alternating heel taps. And, it went viral. “She’s one of the reasons why the Griddy is a part of my signature,” he says.

Jefferson is incredibly interested in propping up his family as much as they’ve encouraged him. Sports Illustrated reports that 78% of NFL players face financial hardship or bankruptcy after retirement—but Jefferson’s goal (as encouraged by his 2024 contract extension) is to “Create generational wealth. [To] set my family up to have opportunities down the line and be able to live comfortably and not struggle, like my parents and people before them had to do. So, just making sure that we’re keeping our money safe, and we’re investing it and not spending it all away.”

Indeed, Jefferson doesn’t own a fleet of sports cars or McMansions. But his look is important to him, as he flashes some tiny permanent gems in his teeth, adding, “I wear grills during the games sometimes—you gotta have that full look, man. People don’t expect you to have diamonds in your mouth and stuff. I have a new ‘Jets’ piece that I’ll be debuting in the first game this season.”

Moreover, he’s been stepping out in the fashion world. Vogue noted that Jefferson arrived for last season’s NFL opener wearing a look from Ib Kamara’s spring 2025 Off-White collection. Then at the 2025 Met Gala, Jets cut an arresting look, wearing a gray three-piece suit with a flowing cape from Public School. Jefferson talks up his stylist, enthusing, “My stylist Darnell Booker helps a lot with organizing the clothes and making sure that everything is exactly the way I need it to be for my outfits to hit right on point.”

As for the upcoming NFL season, Jets says his team’s objective is to get to the title game and become “Super Bowl champion.” And, he’s got some new TD celebration moves, hinting, “I’m gonna try to get in the end zone more this year; and for two, just add a little bit more flavor (to the Griddy), and what the people want to see.” 

He concludes, “I understand I have a certain image, and that a lot of people enjoy watching me play and feel that I’m one of the best in this game. I’ve been blessed, so I just want to impact people and give back as much as possible.”

Photographed by Kurt Iswarienko

Styled by Jay Hines

Written by Ashley Jude Collie

Grooming: Michelle Harvey at Opus Beauty using R + Co and Charlotte Tillbury  

Flaunt Film Editor: Roberto De Jesus

Photo Team: Spencer Scranton, Ellie Monieson, John Schoenfeld

Styling Assistant: Amiah Joyner and Michael Washington

Production Assistant: Melanie Perez