Tyreek Hill confirms one stunning truth hidden inside Daejon Love’s alleged fake NFL life
Love’s alleged NFL career was fake, but Hill revealed that one remarkable part of his story was apparently true
A lmost everything about Daejon Love’s alleged NFL life appeared to be invented. The San Francisco 49ers gear, the supposed contract, the claims that he had worked his way onto an NFL roster and the image of enormous wealth all formed part of a world that federal investigators say never truly existed. Then Tyreek Hill picked up his phone and complicated the entire story with a few simple words: “That’s my boy.”
Hill confirmed that he really knew Love and said the two used to train together . He even remembered Love running approximately a 4.2-second 40-yard dash, extraordinary speed even by professional football standards. “He really was nasty, though,” Hill said, using the football expression for someone with impressive ability.
Hill also suggested the now-viral clips of Love running routes on a beach were probably just him “trolling and having a good time.” For a man who had become an internet punchline for allegedly pretending to be an NFL receiver, it was an unexpected piece of validation.
The piece of truth that may have made everything else believable
According to investigators, Love did not immediately approach the women as strangers asking for money. He allegedly gained their trust through romantic relationships, spoke about building a future together and presented himself as a sophisticated investor with access to NFL money.
Chan allegedly joined video calls posing as his financial adviser and displayed fictitious investment gains. Once that trust had been established, the women were encouraged to transfer money or even obtain loans for opportunities that did not exist. Authorities say none of the identified victims received investment returns or repayments.
His supposed friendships with NFL stars were important pieces of that image. Love claimed Tyreek Hill, Antonio Brown and John Brown were close friends and training partners, using those connections to explain how NFL teams had supposedly become interested in him.
The claims looked like another part of the fantasy especially after John Brown publicly denied ever meeting him. Hill’s response, however, revealed that at least one of those relationships was real . Love had apparently trained beside one of the fastest and most recognizable players in football, and Hill believed he possessed genuine athletic talent.
Hill’s comments do not prove that Love played in the NFL, validate his alleged 49ers career or connect Hill in any way to the alleged fraud. There is no indication that Hill knew how Love may have been using their relationship. What his words do reveal is why the larger story may have sounded believable.
Love did not necessarily invent every person, workout or experience around him. He may have possessed enough real access to the football world to make the fictional parts of his life much more difficult to detect.
Love may never have been a San Francisco 49er, but he apparently stood close enough to real NFL talent to make that possibility feel real. That may be the most unsettling part of the entire story: the most convincing lies are often built around just enough truth.
The Department of Justice detailed the allegations against Love and Chan
That validation does not change the serious accusations surrounding Love. Federal prosecutors say the 35-year-old posed as a 49ers player or wealthy real estate investor while developing romantic relationships with women he met through dating apps.
Love and Taylor Jamie Chan, 18, were arrested in Boise, Idaho, on August 24 and now face federal charges of conspiracy and wire fraud. Authorities allege they used false identities, fictitious investments and fabricated account balances to obtain approximately $1.3 million from at least 26 women across California, Oregon, Washington and Idaho.
Representatives for the NFL and the 49ers told investigators that Love had never been employed by either organization.
