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Geno Smith has carved out a long, successful NFL career that has had its ups and downs.
From his stardom at West Virginia from 2009 to 2012, to his various NFL stops, including a career revival with the Seahawks as a veteran, Smith has accomplished a lot in football. But he’s not the only person with athletic success in his family.
Smith’s lineage includes a rising star among wide receivers and a great-uncle who once competed in the Olympics.
Here’s a full breakdown of Geno Smith’s family.
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Geno Smith wife: Hayley Eastham
Smith’s wife is Hayley Eastham. The two have been married since July 2015, and they first started dating in college at West Virginia University.
Eastham studied law at WVU, and she is now a litigation managing associate at Dentons, per her LinkedIn. While Geno Smith’s son is from a previous relationship, Eastham has helped raise Seven.
Eastham has often been seen supporting her husband at his NFL games, whether with the Seahawks or other squads.
Geno Smith son: Seven Santana Smith
Geno Smith has one child, a son named Seven Santana Smith. Seven’s mother is not Hayley Eastham, but the biological mother remains unknown.
Seven was born in July 2019, with Smith posting to X and calling his son’s birth date the “greatest day of my life.”
In 2021, Smith shared a photo of Seven while at Disneyland:
Seven the 7th Dwarf aka Sleepy takes @Disney 🧞♂️😴🤷🏿♂️ pic.twitter.com/iHzwNorQUc
— Geno (@GenoSmith3) November 4, 2021
Otherwise, the NFL star has kept his son out of the spotlight for the most part.
Why did Geno Smith name his son Seven?
Smith named his son “Seven” because the number is sentimental to him for a few reasons. For one, his grandmother’s birthday was June 7, and she passed on May 7 when Geno was a senior in college. “G” is also the seventh letter in the alphabet, another touch to the meaning for Smith.
Geno Smith also wears No. 7 as his NFL number.
#Raiders Geno Smith: I didn’t come to roll the dice in Vegas. I came to run the table.#RaiderNation pic.twitter.com/0JBdIhefsk
— NFL Rumors (@nflrums) July 23, 2025
Geno Smith dad: Eugene Smith Jr.
Geno Smith’s father is Eugene Smith Jr. They welcomed Geno in October of 1990 after meeting through a mutual friend, per ESPN, and Smith’s mother had him when she was 16 years old.
While Geno’s full name is Eugene Cyril Smith III, he got his nickname “Geno” from his father, who was called “Big Geno.”
Eugene Smith Jr. helped raise Geno along with his mother, grandparents and uncle in Florida. Eugene Smith told ESPN in 2013 that growing up, Geno cried after losses, whether youth league or high school because he wanted to “be the best.”
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Geno Smith mom: Tracey Sellers
Geno Smith’s mother is Tracey Sellers. The 2013 ESPN story detailed how Tracey became pregnant with Geno when she was a senior in high school, but her mother, Mosetta Bratton, helped her family embrace the son that wound up being a future football star. Tracey also told ESPN that when Geno was born, he wasn’t breathing at first.
“The umbilical cord was choking him,” she told ESPN. “My mom lit up the labor room and started praying. She said, ‘God, you didn’t bring us this far to leave us.’ That moment is forever etched in my mind. I got to the hospital just in time, and his life was already planned.”
However, with the help of Geno’s grandmother and other family members, he was raised by Tracey.
“I thank God for my mom,” Tracey told ESPN. “Because the world is going to put that brand on you. You become a statistic. Our lives could’ve gone any kind of way. If I didn’t have a solid foundation, I could’ve been a young woman on the street. Maybe Geno wouldn’t even have been raised with me.
But that wasn’t our story. I was a teen mom, and I made it. My life wasn’t over. It was just beginning.”
Tracey and her mother also co-founded the nonprofit Parents Without Partners, which supports single parents and their children.
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Geno Smith grandma: Mosetta Bratton
Geno Smith’s grandma was Mosetta Bratton, who also played a big role in the quarterback’s life in his youth.
Bratton helped her daughter embrace her pregnancy with Geno, and Tracey also called her “overprotective” in making sure the family was safe all the time in the ESPN story. When Geno was a baby and Tracey went to school, it was Bratton that watched him.
The ESPN story also noted how Bratton “loved football” and “would often critique her grandson’s play.”
Mosetta watched Geno Smith play in the Orange Bowl in his junior year of college, when he broke the record for passing yards in the bowl game with 396. However, just before Smith’s senior season, Mosetta died in 2012.
“She was a huge influence in my life,” Smith told ESPN of his grandmother. “She is a big part of the reason I am here today. She always taught me about working hard and chasing after your goals and being a good person.”
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Geno Smith uncle: Antwon Sellers
Geno Smith’s uncle is Antwon Sellers. He is the brother of Geno’s mother, Tracey. Antwan helped introduce Geno to football, as he threw footballs with his uncle after getting picked up from school.
By the time Geno was playing flag football, he and his uncle watched Peyton Manning and Tom Brady tape together, per ESPN.
Geno Smith cousin: Melvin Bratton
One of Geno’s cousins on his mother’s side is Melvin Bratton, a former NFL running back. He played college ball at Miami, was drafted to the Dolphins in the 1988 NFL Draft, then re-entered the draft in 1989 and was selected in the seventh round by the Broncos.
However, Bratton’s career didn’t last long due to injuries. He caught a pass in Super Bowl XXIV, which Denver lost, but retired in 1990.
Following his playing career, Bratton had a few other short careers within the sport, including being a scout, coordinator of NFC pro personnel for Washington in 2000, and founding sports apparel company College Throwback USA. However, he later became an agent, and he currently works for Vantage Management Group.
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Geno Smith cousin: Jeremiah Smith
Football goes even deeper in Smith’s family, as another one of his cousins is Ohio State football star Jeremiah Smith. The two share the same grandfather, Geno Smith I.
Both Geno and Jeremiah grew up in southern Florida. The veteran quarterback has praised his young cousin in the past, saying he believes Jeremiah is “gonna be the best receiver ever.”
“I really believe that,” Geno said in 2024. “He was born with the talent, but he’s putting the work in, and he’s ready.”
@cbssportscfb Geno Smith on his cousin Jeremiah Smith: “He’s gonna be the best receiver ever.” #cfb #collegefootball #footballtiktok #ohiostate ♬ original sound – CBS Sports College Football
In October 2024, Geno made a trip to Eugene, Oregon, to watch his cousin play for the Buckeyes.
At 2025 Big Ten Media Days in Las Vegas, where Geno was a Raider getting ready for the season, Jeremiah said he had to borrow a suit from his cousin. Geno then followed up on X, writing: “That boy clean too!”
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Geno Smith great-uncle: Danny Smith
Geno Smith’s great-uncle is Danny Smith, another athlete in the family who was a three-time All-American hurler at Florida State.
During his college career, Danny Smith also won the 1974 and 1975 NCAA Indoor Championships for the 60-yard hurdles, becoming the first person to win twice in a row. He set seven FSU records.
Smith also competed in the 1972 and 1976 Summer Olympic. He was inducted into the Florida State University Hall of Fame in 1981, and later coached at the school.
Geno Smith great-grandfather: Cyril Smith
Even Geno’s great-grandfather, Cyril Smith, was an elite athlete. Cyril was a renowned bodybuilder and boxing referee in the Bahamas. In the 1950s, when bodybuilding first became popular in the Bahamas, Cyril Smith took home the first Mr. Bahamas competition title.
He helped found the Bahamas Bodybuilding Association, and later on, Cyril became a referee for boxing matches in the Bahamas from the 1960s into the 1990s.
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Where is Geno Smith from?
Smith was born and raised in Miramar, Florida. He attended Miramar High School before eventually committing to West Virginia University.
