It is well documented that former LA Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers has a big family. Rivers has nine children, seven girls and two boys, and that number could be growing. Rivers said in an interview that he and his wife Tiffany have not put a set number on how many children they want.
This is well-known information in the football world. Look up Philip Rivers on Twitter and you will probably see a joke about how big his family is pretty quickly. It is one of the many things that makes Rivers unique and one of the most beloved players in franchise history.
Yet somehow this information alluded Chargers running back Austin Ekeler.
Ekeler played three seasons with Rivers before his departure to Indianapolis. Ekeler appeared in an episode of ‘Upon Further Review’ with Zack Brook and shared a hilarious story about the first time he met Rivers’ family.
Rivers’ family is so big that Ekeler thought he was doing a meet-and-greet and instead he was simply being dad. The best part about this is the fact that his family has since grown, as at the time of this story, Rivers only had eight kids.
Ekeler mentioned in the clip that Rivers stayed in San Diego while he lived in Los Angeles. As many will remember, Rivers stayed back in San Diego after the team’s move and would commute just like many of us in Southern California to his nine-to-five, except his nine-to-five was being a professional, Hall of Fame quarterback.
Rivers decked out an SUV that he would take back and forth from home and practice that was fully equipped to be a quarterback room. The cost of the SUV was reportedly upwards of $200,000 and that did not even include the driver that Rivers had to hire to take him to and from.
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That explains why Ekeler did not see Rivers’ family much and that was not the only SUV that the Rivers family-owned. According to Ekeler in this clip, the Rivers also owned a “big Mercedes sprinter” that was capable of holding all of the kids.
Just for those that are curious, the newest version of those vans can sell for as much as $50,000.
New quarterback Justin Herbert does not have any kids that Ekeler needs to introduce himself to and quite frankly, is still a bit of a kid himself at 23 years old.
Maybe Ekeler thought that Tyrod Taylor was doing a meet-and-greet with Justin Herbert during the first Chargers’ practice as well.