Berkleigh Wright Shares Her Sweet Game Day Ritual With NFL Boyfriend Sam Martin

The former Broncos cheerleader opens up about her relationship with the Carolina Panthers punter.

Sam Martin and Berkleigh Wright / Courtesy of Berkleigh Wright

This NFL season looks a little different for Berkleigh Wright. The former Denver Broncos cheerleader, who spent seven years with the organization and five cheering on the sidelines, is now soaking in Sundays from the stands—cheering not as a performer, but as the proud girlfriend of Carolina Panthers punter Sam Martin.

The two first met in Denver, when Wright was a cheerleader and Martin played for the Broncos.

Berkleigh Wright and Sam Martin / Courtesy of Berkleigh Wright

“We got to know each other really well in Denver for almost a year,” she tells SI Swimsuit. “It was pretty casual at first.

When Martin was signed to the Bills in 2022, the two decided to focus on their careers and “just kind of let each other go for now.” He moved to Buffalo, and she cheered for a final season as captain. In 2023, Wright applied to and co-won the Swim Search open casting call, making her rookie debut in Belize in the 2024 SI Swimsuit magazine.

The 31-year-old also decided to pursue modeling full-time, saying goodbye to the Broncos—and her sport—to move to Los Angeles.

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But two years after they said goodbye, Wright and Martin reconnected. “It felt like no time had passed from that first time,” the Kansas native shares. “And since then, we’ve been, like, attached at the hip.”

Game day traditions

Now in Charlotte, Wright’s Sundays start early—with a thoughtful breakfast for her boyfriend before he heads to the stadium.

“One game day tradition that I started back in Buffalo is I make him breakfast every morning,” she says, noting she stole the recipe from a former teammate’s wife. “I always make him these certain croissants.”

Sam Martin and Berkleigh Wright / Courtesy of Berkleigh Wright

It‘s a Pillsbury crescent roll filled with cream cheese, ground sausage and everything but the bagel seasoning. “I’ve gotten pretty savvy in the kitchen,” she adds, noting that the couple really values homemade meals and being “regimented with eating and health.” Martin is a lucky man.

Once he’s off to prep for kickoff, she turns to her own routine. “I usually pick out my outfit the day before,” she shares. “Obviously, we have to have our clear purse, so I try to limit what I take into it—usually, of course, like a lip gloss, a powder because it gets super hot...my wallet, because I have to have a hot dog and a glass of wine at the game.”

Tonight, Sunday, Sept. 21, the Panthers host their 2025 season home opener against the Atlanta Falcons.

From long distance to moving in

After almost two years of long-distance and criss-crossing the country for visits, Wright is officially making Charlotte home and moving in with Martin, who signed with the Panthers in March, next week. “It’s a new city, it’s a new house for both of us,” she says. “We picked the house together, and we get to explore the restaurants together, and we get to create our circle of people together.”

Sam Martin and Berkleigh Wright / Courtesy of Berkleigh Wright

It’s the small things that excite her most about closing the long-distance chapter of their relationship. “I think just like the plain old things that we used to not get to do together, like grocery shop and clean the house and little fun, like, random spur-of-the-moment day dates or errands,” she says. “You don’t get to do those mundane day-to-day things when you’re in a long-distance relationship, and I love being able to do that together.”

Wright notes some of the sweetest moments are the quiet ones spent at home—whether she’s curled up with a book or playing games on her iPad while Martin unwinds with his video games. “It just feels good to be with each other,” she says.

Berkleigh Wright and Sam Martin / Courtesy of Berkleigh Wright

Go-to date nights

Even with busy schedules, the couple carves out time for cozy date nights. “We love going to the movies—we feel like we’re kids again, going to the movies, because we get big bowls of popcorn and lots of candy,” she shares.

They recently got a Costco membership, too, which Wright admits they’re both pretty “pumped” about. The two are obsessed with the store’s famous hot dogs and love making spontaneous snack runs together.

Their dog, Leo, also gets in on the fun. “He absolutely loves to swim,” Wright says. “So anytime we can take him on the boat or to a pool, we always do that...we always try to incorporate him into every date.”

Berkleigh Wright and Sam Martin / Courtesy of Berkleigh Wright

And while the big fancy dinners are fun, Wright says their favorite nights are the quiet ones. “We’re big, comfy, cozy people,” she adds. “We love being in our sweatpants. We love a glass of wine at home. We love to order in. So we’re pretty casual in that way.”

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