How Erin Andrews, Charissa Thompson balance work, real-life relationships with NFL’s top stars

Fox Sports personalities Erin Andrews and Charissa Thompson lifted the lid on their close bond with the NFL’s biggest stars following their offseason vacation with Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and his girlfriend, Taylor Swift.

During a fan Q&A on the latest installment of their “Calm Down” podcast, Andrews and Thompson didn’t hold back when asked how they balance being professional and having “fan energy” while interviewing the league’s megastars.

“I don’t,” said Andrews, 47, who is Fox’s lead sideline reporter and covered Super Bowl 2025 in February. “I’m a huge fan of all the guys I cover and I get so excited to talk to them.”

Thompson, who hosts the “Fox NFL Kickoff” show and “Thursday Night Football” on Prime Video, agreed with Andrews.

“I still get really excited for whoever it is,” Thompson, 43, said. “I remember [Buccaneers quarterback] Baker Mayfield has this crazy, crazy comeback and I totally turned into a fan and that was probably not professional, but I didn’t care, that was f–king awesome. I’m a sports fan and dramatic finishes, and no matter who it is — next week, it could be the opposite in terms of who I’m rooting for.

“I like to watch good football and if something good happens for guys we root for and care about, then yeah, I don’t care… There is a time and a place, but then you also still need to have the balance of professional cadence.”

Andrews, who joined Fox in 2012 after a stint with ESPN, went on to explain that building relationships with the players comes with experience.

“Listen, it’s taken us a minute to get where we are,” said Andrews, who is married to retired two-time Stanley Cup champion Jarret Stoll. “You have to build up credibility… with not only with viewers at home, your bosses and also, the players and the coaches. You can’t go into things when you first start with any job like, ‘Oh my god!’ People will look at you and be like,’ You’re an a–hole.’

“But I think of certain times that I’ve interviewed Patrick [Mahomes] or I’ve interviewed Aaron [Rodgers] after big games or anybody really… I love this about Fox so much, I remember when I first got to Fox, somebody said, ‘They want to see you having a good time and smiling.’ And it’s so true.

“… There is nothing wrong with sitting on the [show] desk with Baker after an amazing game or any of these guys and be like, ‘Can we just talk about this last play?’ It’s awesome.”

Front Office Sports reported last month that Andrews and Thompson, whose respective contracts expired after the 2024-25 season, will receive lucrative extensions before the start of the next NFL campaign.

Andrews and Thompson are open about their friendships with athletes, including Rodgers, who signed a one-year deal with the Steelers in June, as well as Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford and his wife, Kelly Stafford.

Last month, Kelce posted Instagram photos from his and Swift’s offseason getaway with Andrews, Stoll, Thompson and her longtime boyfriend, Steven Cundari.

Page Six reported in March that Kelce and Swift dined with Andrews during a secret getaway to Montana.

Andrews and Thompson shipped a romance between Kelce and Swift, both 35, before the couple got together in the summer of 2023.

During a previous episode of their “Calm Down podcast, Andrews and Thompson publicly encouraged Swift to give the three-time Super Bowl winner a chance after he failed to pass along a friendship bracelet at a July 2023 Eras Tour show with his telephone number on it.

Swift attended her first Chiefs game in September 2023 before stepping out publicly with Kelce a month later.