The most secure job in sports is being the child of someone important. No matter how many season runs collapse or how many offenses implode, the same last names will keep finding themselves on payrolls. It’s not just performance-based. It’s a family tree.
Take Nathaniel Hackett; if football jobs were earned strictly by results, he would have been out of the NFL years ago. He is the son of longtime coach Paul Hackett and somehow manages to secure high-ranking jobs despite consistently underwhelming results. In 2018, Nathaniel Hackett was the offensive coordinator for the Jacksonville Jaguars, who finished with the second-worst scoring offense in the league. However, rather than being demoted or seen negatively in any way, the Green Bay Packers hired him to fill the same role. While the Packers were successful during Nathaniel Hackett’s tenure with the team, this was largely due to having NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers at quarterback. Following the 2021 season, the Denver Broncos hired Hackett as a head coach in what would turn out to be one of the worst coaching stints in recent memory.
Nathaniel Hackett, along with star quarterback Russell Wilson, was supposed to bring an offense that had recently been dormant to life. Instead, the Broncos had the 31st-best scoring offense in the league, and Hackett was fired midway through the season. Despite this, the New York Jets inexplicably hired him to be the team’s offensive coordinator for the 2023 season. After two terrible seasons there, Nathaniel Hackett was fired once again.
In his 11 years as an offensive coordinator or head coach, Nathaniel Hackett led only three top-ten scoring offenses. In the same span, he coached six bottom-ten scoring offenses. Now, Nathaniel Hackett serves as a defensive analyst for the Packers, supposedly bringing an offensive viewpoint to the defensive side of the ball. Nathaniel Hackett somehow keeps falling upwards. His career feels less like a resume and more like a family heirloom.
This is not to say that all descendants of coaches are bad. The Shanahan family’s success has traveled through generations. Mike Shanahan, father of current San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan, was a two-time AP Coach of the Year and won two Super Bowls as head coach of the Denver Broncos and another as the offensive coordinator for the 49ers. His son has carried on his legacy, leading the 49ers to two Super Bowl appearances. Kyle Shanahan has continued to use the “Shanahan West Coast” offensive scheme with great success and has firmly cemented the Shanahan name in the NFL history books.
And nepotism is not just prevalent on the sidelines, either. Bronny James did not become a Los Angeles Laker because of his stat sheet — he became one because his dad is LeBron James. It’s not to say that Bronny James is not talented, but if his name were “Bronny Johnson,” he would likely be fighting just to be in the league.
Even good players like Marvin Harrison Jr., son of NFL Hall of Famer Marvin Harrison, have benefited greatly from nepotism. In 2023, Harrison Jr. won the Fred Biletnikoff Award for the most outstanding wide receiver in college football. His stats that year were respectable: 67 catches, 1,211 yards, and 14 touchdowns. Nothing to scoff at for sure, but when compared to Rome Odunze’s 92 catches, 1,640 yards, and 14 touchdowns, it leaves the question of how much Harrison’s father’s legacy was taken into account.
Here’s the problem: sports are supposed to be the place where determination and dedication are what separate those who shine in the spotlight and those who fade, where what you do on the field or court matters more than who your family’s contacts are. But nepotism breaks this. It turns effort into background noise. It tells every unknown kid grinding for a roster spot that talent might get you noticed, but a famous last name gets you hired.
It is not just unfair. It’s boring. Sports are built on underdog stories, not family franchises. Players like Tom Brady, Kurt Warner, or more recently Brock Purdy are remembered because they came out of nowhere, not because they were somebody’s kid. The best part about sports is watching people earn their spot. Nepotism takes that away.
Each time Nathaniel Hackett lands a job or when the Lakers draft Bronny James, it is not just about talent. It is about access, who gets it, and who never will.
Nepotism won’t disappear from sports anytime soon. It is far too familiar, too humane, too easy. Yet, that does not mean it should be seen as something that is harmless. For every player or coach who gets another shot, there is someone else who never even got their first.
