Cruel NFL trade separates US sporting power couple days after wedding

The NFL is in shock after Las Vegas Raiders star was traded to a rival and separated from his wife just a week after their wedding.

Kelsey Plum and Darren Waller.

Darren Waller and Kelsey Plum were about to be the sports power couple of Las Vegas.

But the newlyweds — who tied the knot in Sin City earlier this month — are about to be long distance.

The NY Post reports the Raiders traded the tight end to the New York Giants in a free-agency surprise on Wednesday (AEDT).

Plum, an All-Star guard with the Las Vegas Aces, is preparing for the 2023 WNBA season, which begins in May.

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The trade news comes 10 days after Waller and Plum got married, as noted by The Athletic. The outlet reported Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels accidentally leaked the news of the couple’s wedding to reporters at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.

Additionally, the outlet said Waller was upset with McDaniels when the Las Vegas Review-Journal posted a story announcing the couple’s wedding date on March 4.

Waller and Plum had not publicly announced their plans to get married. They have reportedly been dating since last year.

Kelsey Plum and Darren Waller. Photo: Instagram.

The couple tied the knot earlier this month. Photo: Instagram.

But as news of the trade made its way around social media, with many pointing out the cruel nature of it all, Plum delivered a stone cold response.

The basketball star said the deal was done because McDaniels didn’t cop an invite to the wedding.

Prolly cause he wasn’t invited to the wedding lol https://t.co/K3i7oW5oe4

— Kelsey Plum (@Kelseyplum10) March 15, 2023

Two weeks prior, McDaniels said the 30-year-old Waller “will be a big part of what we’re going to do going forward.”

Even as the Raiders, who were calling around the league looking for extra picks, shopped Waller for more than a year, according to NFL Network.

Waller is under contract with the Giants for the next four seasons after he signed a three-year, $51 million extension with the Raiders in September.

The Georgia Tech product had back-to-back 1,100-yard receiving seasons in 2019 and 2020, when he made the Pro Bowl.

Waller has been plagued by injuries over the last two seasons, totalling just 17 games, appearing in just nine last season, recording 28 receptions for 388 yards and three touchdowns.

In 2017, Waller nearly died after overdosing on drugs laced with fentanyl and the Georgia Tech product has been open about his journey to get sober.

As for Plum? The Under Armour athlete — who was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 draft — had a career-best year in 2022.

The 28-year-old won her first WNBA title with the Aces, was named the MVP of her first All-Star Game and secured a gold medal with the US team in the FIBA Basketball World Cup.

Kelsey Plum is a WNBA star. (Photo by Kelly Defina/Getty Images)

Darren Waller was traded from Las Vegas to New York. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Getty Images)

Plum averaged 20.2 points and 5.1 assists per game last season.

Robert Griffin III — a former NFL quarterback, who serves as an ESPN NFL analyst — didn’t seem happy with McDaniels after the Waller trade.

“Darren Waller JUST GOT MARRIED to Kelsey Plum of the Las Vegas Aces and Josh McDaniels’ wedding present was to trade him to the New York Giants,” Griffin tweeted.

“McDaniels is NOT a romantic.”

The Aces are also owned by Raiders owner Mark Davis.

Moments after news of the trade broke, Las Vegas running back Josh Jacobs appeared to offer his take on the move, tweeting: “Sh*ts sad fr (for real),” Jacobs tweeted.

This article originally appeared in the NY Post and was reproduced with permission.

Originally published as Cruel NFL trade separates US sporting power couple days after wedding