Justin Herbert isn’t going anywhere near retirement anytime soon. But the Los Angeles Chargers quarterback already knows what he wants that chapter of his life to look like, and it centers on the family he hopes to build with fiancée Madison Beer.
Herbert sat down for SoFi’s Richer Lives podcast, hosted by Vivian Tu, and was asked to picture his life after football is over. He closed his eyes before answering.
“My dream retirement would be to start a family, to have a family that I get to take care of, look after and love and enjoy all my hard work with football and what it’s provided me,” Herbert said, according to ClutchPoints. “There’s gonna be a long life after football, and I think I’m really looking forward to one day being able to start a family.”
Tu also asked Herbert what a “richer” life means to him beyond football money. His answer was simple: freedom. He wants to travel and see parts of the world he didn’t get to see growing up, and he wants to keep doing that once his playing days end.
Herbert’s retirement talk comes right after his engagement to Madison Beer
The podcast appearance lands just days after Herbert and Beer confirmed they’re getting married. The pop singer announced the engagement on Instagram on July 28 with a simple caption: “Meet my fiancé,” alongside photos from a garden proposal, according to NFL.com.
Herbert later admitted at Chargers training camp that popping the question rattled him more than his first NFL start did. “The proposal, for sure,” he said when asked which moment made him more nervous, per ESPN.
The couple’s romance dates back to August 2025, when Herbert was spotted on the set of one of Beer’s music videos. They kept things quiet for a while before going public that October, and Herbert later appeared in Beer’s music video for her song “lovergirl,” off her album “locket deluxe.”
Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh has been vocally supportive of the relationship. Asked about Herbert’s engagement at camp, Harbaugh brought up an odd wrinkle in this year’s NFL calendar — the Super Bowl falls on Valentine’s Day and is being played at SoFi Stadium, the Chargers’ home field. “Little hairs on your arms start standing up,” Harbaugh said, according to ESPN.
Herbert still has business to finish before any of that
For now, family and travel are the plan for later. Herbert is only entering his seventh NFL season after Los Angeles took him with the sixth overall pick in the 2020 draft, and the Chargers still have real goals in front of them.
Herbert has led the Chargers to three playoff appearances, but the team has lost all three games. The roughest of those outings came against the Houston Texans in the 2024 postseason, when Herbert threw four interceptions.
| Season | Result | Herbert’s Postseason Line |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Lost Wild Card | Playoff appearance |
| 2023 | Lost Wild Card | Playoff appearance |
| 2024 | Lost to Houston Texans | 4 INTs thrown |
That history is part of why this training camp carries extra weight. Herbert is healthy, he’s got a new voice at offensive coordinator in Mike McDaniel, and he’s chasing the kind of playoff breakthrough that’s eluded him so far — with a Super Bowl on his own home field waiting at the end of the season if the Chargers can get there.
The family Herbert dreams about is still down the road. The team he’s trying to build a Super Bowl run with is what’s in front of him right now.
