Indianapolis Colts quarterback Daniel Jones has confirmed his relationship with Nicole ElAttrache, the daughter of one of the most celebrated orthopaedic surgeons in American sport, revealing a new power couple in the NFL.
The 29-year-old signal caller went public with the romance on Wednesday evening when Nicole shared two intimate photographs on Instagram to mark his birthday. The first image showed the couple cosying up at what appears to be a horse-racing track, captioned simply: “Happy birthday Daniel.” A second post, featuring the pair laughing together with Jones clasping her hand, read: “I love you.” The posts are believed to be the first time the couple has appeared together on social media.
Nicole, 30, is a former collegiate volleyball player at Duke University and is no stranger to the sporting spotlight. Her father, Dr Neal ElAttrache, serves as team physician for both the Los Angeles Rams and the Los Angeles Dodgers and has built a reputation as the go-to surgeon for elite athletes.
Dr ElAttrache’s patient list reads like a roll call of modern sports icons. He performed the landmark Achilles repair on quarterback Aaron Rodgers after the New York Jets star tore the tendon just four snaps into his debut in 2023, using an innovative “SpeedBridge” internal brace technique designed to accelerate recovery. Rodgers returned to the field the following season. Beyond Rodgers, Dr ElAttrache has operated on Tom Brady (knee), Kobe Bryant (shoulder), Shohei Ohtani (elbow), and a string of other high-profile names including Dustin May, Gavin Lux and Jonah Williams.
The connection between the surgeon’s expertise and Jones’s own recent injury is notable. Jones tore his Achilles in December during the first quarter of the Colts’ game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, an injury that cut short a season that had already seen him sign a two-year, $88 million contract with Indianapolis in March 2026 — a deal that could rise to $100 million with incentives. However, it is understood that Jones did not go under his girlfriend’s father’s knife. Instead, he is believed to have been operated on by Dr Martin J. O’Malley, an orthopaedic surgeon specialising in foot and ankle sports medicine who also serves as team orthopaedist for the Brooklyn Nets. Dr O’Malley previously performed surgery on Jayson Tatum after his own Achilles rupture. Jones himself has disclosed that he had the same surgeon as Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton, who also suffered an Achilles injury.
Dr O’Malley is part of a wider medical network that includes Marissa Vasquez, MD, the primary care head team physician for the Dodgers — the first Latina and woman of colour to hold that role at the club. Nicole’s family, meanwhile, includes her mother Tricia and sisters Natalie and Eva, as previously pictured in a family photograph.
On the field, Jones is making steady progress in his recovery. He has taken part in all individual drills during the Colts’ first two OTAs, and on Wednesday was seen throwing routes on air, conducting handoffs and executing play-action passes with the running backs. “Feeling good. It’s been a good process so far,” Jones told reporters after practice. “Like six months into it, so feeling good. Been here working hard with our trainers and strength staff here and going well.” He added: “There’s definitely still work to be done and progress to be made. So, I think it’s just continuing to get stronger, continuing to run faster, cut harder and progress kind of according to the program, but it’s been good. I think we’ve hit all of our marks so far and we’ll continue to do that.” Jones is targeting a return by Week 1 of the upcoming season.
Before his relationship with Nicole, Jones was previously linked to Ella Bonafede, a former Duke lacrosse player, while rumours connecting him to sportscaster Kay Adams were denied by Adams herself. The NFL boasts a number of high-profile couplings, including Olivia Culpo with Christian McCaffrey, Taylor Swift with Travis Kelce, Simone Biles with Jonathan Owens, Hailee Steinfeld with Josh Allen, Alix Earle with Braxton Berrios, Jahmyr Gibbs with Nicole Anderson, and Saquon Barkley with Anna Congdon. Jones and ElAttrache now join that list — a pairing that brings together a quarterback on the comeback trail and a family name synonymous with keeping the game’s biggest stars in action.
