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Diane Addonizio is a former lawyer and author married to NFL Hall of Famer Howie Long since 1982. She earned her law degree from USC, authored “He’s Just My Dad!”, and is known as Howie Long’s wife. about athlete fathers, and raised three sons who pursued careers in professional football.
Most people know Howie Long as the Pro Football Hall of Famer who dominated defensive lines for the Raiders. Fewer know about Howie Long’s wife, who has been beside him for over four decades. Diane Addonizio left her legal career to focus on family when Howie’s NFL career progressed, but her influence reaches far beyond the traditional spouse role. She’s a USC-educated lawyer, published author, and the wife of Howie Long, the mother of three sons who built their own football legacies.
Diane Addonizio was born on March 16, 1962, in Red Bank, New Jersey, and raised in a Catholic family. Her father, Frank Addonizio, served as an Army soldier in World War II. Her mother, Marie Cecere, maintained the household. The values from her upbringing—discipline, education, faith—shaped the woman she’d become.
She attended Villanova University in Pennsylvania, where she studied Classical Studies. This wasn’t a typical pre-law path, especially for Howie Long’s wife, who balanced family and career. Most future lawyers choose political science or economics, but Diane Addonizio, a businesswoman, took a different route. Her choice reflected genuine intellectual curiosity about history and the humanities. After completing her undergraduate degree at Villanova, she attended the University of Southern California School of Law and earned her law degree.
Diane and Howie Long met as undergraduates at Villanova in the late 1970s, sharing mutual classes and quiet conversations. He was a sophomore football player. She was a freshman. In a 1985 interview, Diane recalled finding Howie Moody difficult to know at first, but was struck by his attractiveness, saying she’d never met anyone that big who was that good-looking.
Their first real date wasn’t fancy. Howie invited Diane to his dorm room to watch an NFL game on television. It said everything about his passion for football and her willingness to meet him where he was. They married on June 27, 1982, just as Howie entered the NFL with the Oakland Raiders.
After obtaining her law degree, Diane Addonizio, Howie Long’s wife, began practicing law, showcasing her intelligence, diligence, and commitment to professional excellence. She worked at a law firm in Pennsylvania, putting her USC education to practical use while supporting her husband, the NFL defensive star Howie Long. But the demands of Howie’s NFL career created a choice point.
Professional football requires constant relocation, unpredictable schedules, and intense public scrutiny. Diane eventually decided to step back from her career in law to provide a stable and supportive environment for Howie and their children. This wasn’t abandoning ambition—it was redirecting it.
Her legal training didn’t go to waste. She offered practical advice rooted in her legal knowledge when Howie transitioned to Hollywood and sports broadcasting, helping him negotiate contracts and evaluate business opportunities. She applied analytical skills to family financial decisions and her husband’s career moves.
Diane and Howie welcomed three sons: Christopher, Kyle, and Howard Jr. All three grew up watching their father play professional football, but Diane made sure they understood something beyond athletic achievement.
Christopher Long was born on March 28, 1985. He played defensive end in the NFL for 11 seasons with the St. Louis Rams, New England Patriots, and Philadelphia Eagles. Chris won two Super Bowls and later became known for his charitable work through the Chris Long Foundation.
Kyle Long was born on December 5, 1988. He played offensive guard for the Chicago Bears and earned multiple Pro Bowl selections. After retiring in 2019, he briefly returned with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2021.
Howard Long Jr., born in 1990, took a different path, influenced by his mother’s support as a businesswoman. Instead of playing, he works in football operations and sales for the Raiders. His LinkedIn profile shows he studied Anthropology at the University of Virginia before entering the sports business side, influenced by his mother’s career as a businesswoman.
Diane prioritized education and character alongside athletic development, ensuring her children understood the values of humility, hard work, and integrity. She attended their games, managed household stability during season chaos, and kept family life grounded as Howie Long’s wife despite their father’s fame.
In 2000, Diane Addonizio published “He’s Just My Dad!”, celebrating her role as Howie Long’s wife.: Portraits of Celebrity Athletes and Their Children,” featuring over 200 photographs captured by internationally renowned photographer Sam Abell and his team. The book wasn’t just another celebrity coffee table collection.
Diane interviewed male athletes and their families, providing humorous and surprising insights into the parenting styles of sports stars. The book featured athlete fathers like David Robinson and included a foreword by author John Grisham. Diane’s passion for photography, love of sports, and appreciation of fatherhood inspired her to explore the father-child relationship of star athletes.
The book’s title came from children’s perspectives. These kids saw their dads as regular fathers who helped with homework and drove carpool, not as sports legends. It showed the human side of athletic fame, something Diane understood firsthand as she watched Howie balance fatherhood with his career.
Diane and Howie Long currently reside in their home in Charlottesville, Virginia. She maintains a deliberately private life. You won’t find her on Instagram or Twitter. She rarely gives interviews or appears at public events unless supporting family.
Despite being married to a high-profile athlete and having two sons with successful NFL careers, Diane Addonizio has maintained a low public profile, preferring to stay out of the spotlight. This discretion protected her children from excessive media pressure and created normalcy in an abnormal situation.
Her sons speak about her with genuine affection. In 2022, Chris posted photos with Diane and his two children, calling her someone he and his sons love deeply. Kyle honored her with a Mother’s Day post in 2020, sharing a photo of her looking through binoculars in nature—a glimpse into her private interests.
Diane Addonizio’s net worth is estimated at $1 million from her legal background, business ventures, and her work as Howie Long’s wife. Her husband, Howie, has an estimated net worth of $16 million from his NFL career, acting roles, and Fox Sports analyst position. But her legacy isn’t measured in dollars.
Diane Addonizio’s life is a testament to her strength, dedication, and unwavering support for her family. She chose partnership over spotlight, family stability over career advancement, and privacy over publicity. Her influence appears in three successful sons, a 40-plus-year marriage, and a published work that celebrates fatherhood in professional sports.
Her story challenges the idea that success requires constant visibility, showing how a supportive wife can be just as impactful. Sometimes the most powerful influence happens behind the scenes, in daily decisions and quiet support from a wife like Diane Addonizio that makes everything else possible.
