Ryan Fitzpatrick's 7 Kids: All About His Sons and Daughters (and Why They Were All Born in Different Cities)

Mar. 15, 2025

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The former quarterback and his wife, Liza Barber, met in college while both were attending Harvard University. After being drafted to the NFL in 2005,Ryan and Liza marriedon June 24, 2006, and within the year, they started their family. Since then, the couple have welcomed three sons and four daughters.

“I was having trouble getting around, and still in a lot of pain … but then the kids make it worth it with all the different toys and the smiles and all that,” he told theNew York Postthe following year.

Ryan welcomed seven kids in a 10-year span

Ryan Fitzpatrick #14 of the New York Jets walks off the field with his children after a game at MetLife Stadium on November 29, 2015 in East Rutherford, New Jersey.Al Bello/Getty

Al Bello/Getty

Ryan and Liza welcomed their first child, son Brady, inMarch 2007. Their second son, Tate, followed in January 2009 — a two-year age gap that would continue with the rest of their kids.

Ryan and Liza completed their family with their son Jake inJanuary 2019.

During an interview onLate Night with Seth Meyersin September 2022, Ryan spoke about being a girl dad and learning to do their hair while his wife was out of town.

“One of my four daughters asked me to braid her hair,” he said. “So I’ve got the double braid where you start the braid, and the hair gets all weird, so you put the tie in, and then you braid more. I call it the double braid, and it’s what they love.”

They were born in different U.S. cities

Ryan Fitzpatrick and his family attend the ‘New York Spectacular’ Opening Night at Radio City Music Hall on June 23, 2016 in New York City.Cindy Ord/Getty

Cindy Ord/Getty

Over the course of his 17-year career, Ryan played for nine different teams — becoming one of the most traded players in NFL history, according toESPN. Because of these moves, all seven of his children were born in different cities around the country, he toldWIVB News 4in June 2022.

Running down the list, he outlined the birthplaces: Brady, his oldest, was born in St. Louis in 2007 during Ryan’s stint with the Rams. Tate was born in Cincinnati when the quarterback played for the Bengals in 2009.

During the2011 NFL labor dispute, his oldest daughter, Lucy, was born in Arizona, Ryan’s home state. “She was born there because of the lockout. That’s why we were there,” he explained.

In 2013, his daughter Maizy was born in upstate New York. “She’s a Buffalo girl,” he told WIVB News 4.

Their birthdays are close together

New York Jets Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick with his sons Brady and Tate on the field after a game at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.Joshua Sarner/Icon Sportswire/Corbis/Icon Sportswire via Getty

Joshua Sarner/Icon Sportswire/Corbis/Icon Sportswire via Getty

Ryan’s kids were born between the months of January and April, which made it a little tricky for the quarterback to stay in shape during the offseason — thanks to birthday cake.

At an offseason minicamp in April 2019,Ryan joked with reportersabout his fuller frame, hilariously blaming it on fatherhood.

“The thing with me is I have seven kids,” he said. “In January, we have three birthdays. So we’ve got the family birthday party which includes cake, we’ve got the friends’ birthday party which includes cake, so that’ssix times in January.”

Ryan also explained that three of his kids have birthdays in early March. He continued, “Again, that’s a tough stretch. That’s cake six out of 10 or 11 days. Then we’ve got an April birthday, so it doesn’t slow down."

The NFL star added, “But now that the birthdays are behind me, I think I’m going to try and go from peak offseason form to peak in-season form.”

They aren’t picky eaters

Ryan Fitzpatrick’s kids Maizy, Lucy and Zoey and son Tate in December 2024.Ryan Fitzpatrick/ X

Ryan Fitzpatrick/ X

Birthday cake isn’t the only thing they consume in excess, though. Having a family of nine means sometimes preparing meals in large quantities is necessary, and being a picky eater isn’t really an option.

“The kids have to eat stuff sometimes they don’t necessarily want to eat because that’s what we have,” Ryan toldCBS Sports Radioin January 2020.

“We made it for 15 people, so this is what you’re eating for the next three days,” he joked.

Ryan applauds his kids for adjusting well to change

Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick with one of his sons after a game on November 3, 2019 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.Charles Trainor Jr./Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty

Charles Trainor Jr./Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty

Despite the family’s zip code changing several times over the years, Ryan’s children adapted to their nomadic lifestyle with ease, he toldThe Athleticin August 2021.

“I think Brady, my oldest, has been in seven different school systems. He’s done an awesome job adjusting and has set the tone for all the other kids,” he said. “My wife has done a great job of saying, ‘This is an adventure. This is gonna be fun.’ ”

In fact, being able to call several cities home has been beneficial for their family.

“I think we really embraced moving around and really try to take advantage and all these different places that we lived,” he toldCNNin December 2023. “Of becoming part of the community, even if it was a short time embracing our neighbors and embracing the teams that I played on. And with that, we gained a lot of great experiences.”

Brady has impressive math skills

Ryan Fitzpatrick with son Brady in October 2024.Ryan Fitzpatrick/ X

In 2014, Ryan’s firstborn child, Brady, stole the spotlight during a press conference when he quickly solved a math equation.

While speaking to reporters, Ryan asked one of them to give his then 7-year-old son two numbers between 90 and 99 to multiply. The reporter, Brian Smith, picked 93 and 97. Within seconds, Brady responded with the answer: 9,021.

“Can you look at your calculator, please? Does that say 9,021?” Ryan asked before giving an enthusiastic “Boom!”

Ten years later, in October 2024, Ryan reshared a video of the press conferenceon X. “One of my favorite moments of my career,” he captioned it. The proud dad alsoshared a photoof him and the now 17-year-old Brady.

Ryan chose his post-NFL career with his kids in mind

Ryan Fitzpatrick on ‘Thursday Night Football’ before a game between the Minnesota Vikings and the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium on October 24, 2024 in Inglewood, California.Ric Tapia/Getty

Ric Tapia/Getty

Ryan retired from the NFL in June 2022 after 17 seasons and quickly pivoted to anew career as an analystof Amazon Prime’sThursday Night Football.

Speaking to theNew York Post,he explained how his kids influenced his decision, saying that the new gig would allow him to attend their various football games and soccer tournaments.

Over a year later,Ryan told the outletthat one of the best parts of his post-NFL career was spending more time with his family.

“The cool part about this is, there’s less stress involved,” he said in December 2023. “It’s different because as a player, even though you’re home, sometimes you’re notactuallyhome … you try to be present, but there’s always [something] you’re thinking about, whether it’s the next game and the game plan.”

He continued, “Now, I get to be home all the time and it’s a lot of fun. … So I think in turn it’s a lot less stressful for my wife than it was when I was playing.”

In addition, Ryan got the chance to take his children to Chicago for a Bears game while they had time off school.

“We spent the week in the city. They got to be a part of my world,” he said, adding that although he tried to do that as much as possible during his time with the NFL, the responsibilities of being a player made it more difficult. “I can immerse them in some of that … So for me to be able to have my family involved in that and be around is that’s a neat part of the job for me.”

source: people.com