NFL legends saw right through fake 49ers WR’s $1.3M act: ‘That’s not what an NFL dude looks like’
There are apparently hundreds of minute details required to convincingly impersonate an NFL player. Daejon Love allegedly mastered enough of them to fool more than two dozen women.
Carrying the helmet everywhere is apparently not one of them.
People are sounding off in the comments of all the videos that have been circulating of Love trying to allegedly scam his victims by bringing his helmet everywhere with him.
Love carried it in his passenger’s seat when he was driving. He brought it to restaurants, night clubs, car dealerships, even the barbershop. If Love needed to prove to anyone that he was an NFL player, he would just whip out his replica helmet.
Of course, most NFL players leave their helmets at the team practice facility and on the sidelines. But maybe the average person doesn’t know that.
For Hall of Fame wide receiver Larry Fitgerald, he couldn’t get past the unattached visor.
“The visor that wasn’t attached to the helmet was the one that made me bust up laughing,” Fitzgerald told The California Post in an exclusive interview last week. “It was halfway on and halfway out.”
Former USC Heisman Trophy winner Matt Leinart had another problem with the helmet: when he wore it during the infamous beach workout.
Love, 35, is accused by federal authorities of constructing an elaborate fantasy in which he masqueraded as a San Francisco 49ers player while allegedly defrauding at least 26 women out of approximately $1.3 million. The FBI believes there could be many more victims.
For Leinart and Fitzgerald, former Arizona Cardinals teammates who actually lived inside the NFL world Love allegedly tried to counterfeit, the football portion of the performance was almost comically unconvincing.
“I saw the videos that were circulating,” Leinart told The California Post. “I think he was on the beach running routes in a helmet.
“From an outsider, I’m like, ‘This is the fakest thing I’ve ever seen.’”
Leinart laughed at the absurdity but offered perhaps the most damning scouting report imaginable.
“That’s not what an NFL dude looks like.”
He’s right. Thanks to Los Angeles Chargers linebacker Daiyan Henley and former New England Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs providing us with a side-by-side comparison, we know what an NFL player working out on the beach looks like.
Federal prosecutors allege Love’s operation was far more sophisticated away from the sand. Beginning in February 2022, authorities say he met women primarily through dating apps, developed romantic relationships and portrayed himself as both an NFL player and wealthy investor. His alleged accomplice, 18-year-old Taylor Jamie Chan, posed as Love’s financial adviser.
The illusion allegedly included 49ers gear, luxury vehicles, fictitious investments and, according to prosecutors, FaceTime calls displaying bogus financial gains. Some victims allegedly took out personal loans. When women ran out of money or began asking too many questions, authorities say Love cut off communication.
Love even appeared in a 2024 video purportedly signing an NFL contract before declaring he was joining the “Niners.”
That makes Fitzgerald’s explanation of how the charade could survive around actual NFL players particularly fascinating.
“It happens all the time,” Fitzgerald said of people falsely claiming to be professional athletes. “You see guys say they’re on the team or they’re playing, and you don’t care enough to say, ‘He’s not on the team.’ You just don’t care.”
That could help explain one of the stranger wrinkles of the saga: how current 49ers players, including Fred Warner, noticed Love’s fake Instagram profile and viewed his stories without immediately sounding the alarm.
“You’re flattered that somebody wants to do what you do for a living and would take it to that extreme to prove that they are,” Fitzgerald said. “So I can see where guys would find it funny, but nobody wants to blow up anybody’s spot.”
Fitzgerald was careful to separate the comedy of the impersonation from the seriousness of the accusations.
“To the untrained eye, I can see how he could probably get over on somebody,” Fitzgerald said. “It’s not hilarious what happened to the women, obviously, but it’s just hilarious that somebody would pull a stunt like that.”
The alleged stunt finally ended Aug. 24 at Boise Airport, where the FBI arrested Love and Chan. Investigators said Love had traveled through six states since July 15 and was in Idaho to meet new victims. He allegedly operated under several names, including Jon Love, Avril Lyto Love and, remarkably, Jordan Love — the same name as the Green Bay Packers quarterback.
Love and Chan face conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud charges and are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
For all the fake investments, aliases and carefully manufactured social-media imagery, though, the football scouting report remains wonderfully simple.
The Heisman Trophy winner watched the routes.
The Hall of Fame receiver inspected the helmet.
Neither was buying it.
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