Carson Steele was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Kansas City Chiefs in 2024 but it took him very little time to steal the attention of the Chiefs kingdom. Though his impressive skills have earned him the opportunity to start for the defending champions, a small part of his fame is the reason that he owns a pet alligator named Crocky-J.
His unusual bond with the exotic pet has turned a lot of heads and it has certainly become the newest obsession for the NFL fans. But for the rookie RB, it’s his childhood friend. Steele and Crocky-J have grown together and the story behind their union is just as interesting as it could get.
Why Carson Steele Chose an Alligator as a Pet
It’s certainly unusual for someone to have a large and dangerous reptile in the house, but for Carson Steele, it all came naturally the day it arrived at his house.
As a second or third-grader, Carson asked his parents for a pet. His father, Joseph Steele, who has an adventurous spirit, had something quirky in his mind. Carson’s mother was very hesitant about having pets at home, especially snakes. “My mom was big no on snakes,” Carson said on Kingdom Queens podcast. Little did she know that what would arrive at her doorstep would be an alligator.
It was the day before Christmas Eve, Carson and his family were celebrating when there was a knock on the door. “The UPS guy comes in and you can see my dad and his buddy laughing in the background. So they already knew what was coming and it said ‘Live Reptile’ on the box… I opened that bag and he shot down the hallway so fast.”
He admitted that his mother and Nana were freaked out by the surprise pet arriving at their home.
Naming the Alligator Crocky-J
The rookie RB finds it surreal to have been friends with his pet alligator for so long. Now that he is in the NFL and away from home, he isn’t able to spend much time with him. However, it was his innocence that made him accept the reptile into his life.
That innocence and friendly emotion also gave birth to one of the coolest names for an alligator, Crocky-J. “I thought it sounded cool when I was younger,” he said talking about how he came up with the name.
Crocky-J: Size and Diet
The day it arrived at his house, the baby alligator was about 10 inches long. It was though a harmless size for a reptile at home but alligators are known for having big sizes which may not be very suitable to keep as a pet.
Carson Steele in an appearance at the Sports Gambling Podcast last year stated that Crocky was around three or four feet. But in his more recent interview, he stated that Crocky is pushing for five and a half feet.
Concerned with its growing size the RB revealed that his mother once hilariously joked, “‘When do I get to turn him into gator boots or a belt or something like that?’ I’m like no way.” To control the growth of the reptile Carson’s family keeps Crocky-J in a nutritious yet controlled diet.
“You can’t feed him like the chicken and stuff all the time or he’ll get way too big for his habitat,” Carson said. “So he gets like chicken every once in a while and then he’ll get, it’s called Gator Chow. It’s kind of like his nutritious stuff and it almost looks like dog food. That’s like it kind of blends his balance so he stays healthy but doesn’t like freakishly get way too big.”
Taking care of an alligator is certainly very different from having a pet dog. Food is one part of it but habitat is also necessary for the large reptile’s survival and the Steele family has it all covered.
How Does Carson Steele Keep His Pet Around Water
Crocky-J lives in Greenwood, Indiana in Carson’s hometown where he has his own tank to live in since alligators need water. It is certainly not cheap to upgrade the living expenses for the growing animal but Carson’s rookie money will come in handy for his exotic friend.
“He’s in a really big tank and like he has enough room to turn around, swim stuff like that. He has like a little basking area… where he can climb up,” the 21-year-old RB said.
Moreover, the Steele family does allow Crocky-J inside the house as is evident from a more recent photo of it sitting on a couch as Carson started his first game for the Chiefs on the day of his sister’s wedding.
Will Crocky-J Come To Kansas City?
One requires a special permit from the states that allow alligators to be kept as pets. For Crocky-J, the Steele family has a special permit to keep him in Indiana. However, from what it looks like, Carson has plans to shift his alligator to KC.
“I’m not for sure what it is in KC so I’ll have to figure it out but like for all the permits and stuff like once he gets over four feet you have to have like certain like rescue things and like a way to like take him down and stuff like that so yeah there’s all kinds of crazy stuff… I know I have to figure out the rules for KC and we might have to bring him down here.”
Luckily for Carson, it’s technically legal to keep alligators as pets in Missouri and Kansas.
Purchase Carson Steele’s Chiefs jersey from Fanatics.
Has Crocky-J Ever Attacked Someone?
Keeping a wild animal at home certainly comes with its own risks. And getting bit by it is one major point in that list. That said, Carson was open about the time when Crocky-J bit his dad.
“I would say probably like around fourth, or fifth grade, he bit my dad. We were cleaning his tank and luckily he was little then and he didn’t like bite and start to like roll and stuff. But he bit and let go real fast and so that was like the only really big encounter. But like now he won’t like kind of go at you unless you’re feeding him he’ll get a little aggressive but other than that he’s pretty chill.”
Steele’s Desire to Launch His Own Social Media Around Crocky-J
It’s no surprise that Crocky-J has become a new fan favorite for not just the Chiefs kingdom but also the NFL fans who love to see him on screen whenever Carson takes the field.
After seeing the reaction of the fans on his pet alligator, Carson does have some ideas to implement like having his own social media. “I need a… yeah, he’s more cool than I am,” Carson said when the Kingdom Queens’ hosts Lexi and Jodi asked him to create Crocky’s own Twitter and Instagram accounts.
However, his plans with his alligator friend extend beyond just social media. Now that the rookie RB is a part of the Chiefs, where a Super Bowl win is something of a standard, he plans to get Crocky-J his own Super Bowl jewelry after a championship win. “Getting chain or something like that,” he said while also nodding to the fact that a photo of a gator with a Super Bowl ring will be the first one ever.
Carson also played along with the notion when the hosts of the Sports Gambling Podcast suggested that the Florida Gators missed a massive opportunity to sign him. That way, they hilariously stated, the young RB could have landed a big NIL deal.
PETA’s Response To Carson Steele Petting a Gator
NFL fans are loving the exotic pet’s involvement with the sport. However, PETA called out Carson Steele and his family by tweeting that taming a wild animal is “inhumane.”
Reacting to a photo of Crocky-J with a KC Chiefs hat on, PETA’s X account tweeted, “There is nothing enjoyable about having your mouth taped shut, being trapped inside, and getting denied a natural life Crocky J deserves better, like a life at a reputable sanctuary. Keeping wild animals as “pets” is inhumane and endangers the publics safety.”
Although PETA doesn’t agree with wild animals being kept as pets, it has become the new favorite thing for the NFL. Now with Carson starting for the Chiefs in Pacheco’s absence, one can expect to see Crocky-J a lot more on the screen.
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