Katie Hoofnagle, Sam Darnold's Girlfriend, Praised His 'Huge Heart'
Katie Hoofnagle, the girlfriend of quarterback Sam Darnold, is now his fiancée. She has not held back in sharing her feelings for him online.
In June, Hoofnagle praised Darnold for "your huge heart, goofy energy, and ability to quote every movie you’ve ever seen are unmatched. Happy 26th birthday, celebrating you is so easy!”
Before the Super Bowl, she appeared in an Instagram ad for DoorDash with the very-popular wife of New England Patriots' QB Drake Maye, Ann Michael Maye. Darnold's team, the Seattle Seahawks, is playing the Patriots in the big game. "I got beef with what New England says… about their food scene. ????" Hoofnagle's caption says. It's not the first time she has made friends with other NFL WAGS, as she has been a fixture at Darnold's games for other teams, as well, People reported, adding that Darnold and Hoofnagle first went "Instagram official" in 2023 and became engaged about two years later.
Hoofnagle doesn't have a large social media presence. However, her Instagram page prominently featured a photo of her kissing Darnold on the field. "WE’RE NOT DONE YET!!!" that January 26 caption reads. In November, she shared a photo showing her on the football field and wrote, "football, friends, family, fall, and flights."
The Couple Announced Their Engagement in July 2025
Hoofnagle revealed that she said "yes" when Darnold popped the question in July 2025 on a beach. A series of photos she shared on her Instagram page showed the big moment and the couple dancing together on a beach.
Who is Katie Hoofnagle? Her LinkedIn page says that she works as a marketing specialist for Renvio. She previously worked as a mortgage loan officer. Hoofnagle was also previously a retail associate at the Augusta National Golf Club. "Served as a retail sales associate in the Women’s Athletic department within the main clubhouse. Responsible for managing sales, restock, and customer engagement," she wrote on LinkedIn.
(Photo by Christopher Polk/Variety via Getty Images)
At the University of South Carolina, she wrote, "I was selected to be University of South Carolina U101 Peer Leader for the Fall 2019 Semester. As a peer leader, I am responsible for mentoring incoming freshman and aiding in the successful transition of new students to the University of South Carolina by connecting them with role models, resources, and facilitators for learning."
She majored in marketing at the university and also studied abroad in Florence, Italy, her page says. Five years ago, she wrote of her journey, "Three weeks ago I moved up to Charlotte, NC without a job or a plan. Being from the SF Bay Area, the safe post-grad decision in a world full of uncertainty would have been to move home and take advantage of the professional growth opportunities present in The Bay; however, I knew for me, going home to CA wasn’t going to provide me the personal growth that I needed. At the end of the day, there’s more to life than just my career and I knew I needed to dig my roots somewhere new."