The Heartbeat
Leadership
Married 2015
C.J. & Stephanie
C.J. and Stephanie met at Augustana University in Sioux Falls, two college athletes who found something in each other that had nothing to do with sport. They married in 2015, the year C.J. graduated, just before the NFL chapter began.
Stephanie is a pelvic health physical therapist working with Twin Cities Orthopedics. Through ten NFL seasons, the practices, the travel, the uncertainty that comes with being an undrafted player trying to hold a roster spot, she has been the constant. The steadiness. The home base.
Every camp, every scholarship, every community initiative C.J. undertakes is built on a foundation that Stephanie helped lay. She is not background to his story. She is central to it.
The Next Generation
The Kids
Skylar (2016), Stella (2018), and Cortez III (2021) round out the Ham household. Skylar, the eldest, arrived the same year her dad signed with the Vikings and has grown up watching what it means to show up, compete, and stay grounded.
Stella, the middle child, brings the personality and light that makes a house feel like a home. Cortez III, the youngest, carries the name forward, all energy and already chasing after his big sisters.
Together they are the heartbeat behind everything C.J. and Stephanie are building. They are the reason the camps, the scholarships, and the community work matter.
Family Is the Foundation
“See people. Know people. Love people.”
C.J.'s Instagram bio has always listed the same things, in the same order: Follower of Jesus. Husband. Father. Before any stat, any title, any achievement. The family is not what happens after the work. It is the reason for the work.
Matthew 22:37-39