Actor Samuel L. Jackson has always rocked with the Atlanta Falcons, but during his latest appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, he casually dropped that he roots for the Baltimore Ravens too. That alone had everyone doing a double-take: Why the Ravens? Well, Samuel didn’t leave anyone guessing. His explanation pointed straight at one person: quarterback Lamar Jackson.

“Yeah I’m still a Falcon fan, I can’t not be a Falcon fan, but I cheer most for the Baltimore Ravens because Lamar Jackson is my bastard son,” Jackson said when asked if he’s still a Falcon fan. It didn’t take long for his comments to surface on social media, and right after that, Lamar Jackson’s camp slid into the comment section and responded in the same playful tone.

“That’s fam!! 😂😂,” they commented on the post with the IG handle named Lamar Jackson Entertainment, the quarterback’s production company.

Just like everyone else, Kimmel looked genuinely surprised. And when he asked if folks really believe he and the Ravens’ quarterback are related, Samuel doubled down on the joke, saying people online have been comparing the two of them for years, and plenty of them think they look alike.

“Of course there’s all kinds of side-by-side pictures of us online,” the 76-year-old actor said. “When he was at Louisville, he used to sit next to [Traveon] Samuel, so it would be ‘Samuel’ ‘L. Jackson’ on the back of the jerseys when they were on the bench. It was great! Great for me.”

Of course, Samuel L. Jackson was just having fun with the whole thing. After all, the internet has been pushing this joke for years anyway. One viral post about their fictional family connection even garnered nearly 10,000 likes on X, featuring a young Samuel alongside a current photo of Lamar. The caption read, “Samuel L Jackson & Lamar Jackson. I can’t unsee it,” with both the personalities looking alike.

And while the Lamar talk stole the spotlight, Samuel also slipped in another surprise. His Super Bowl LIX halftime show cameo wasn’t something he knew about ahead of time.

Samuel L. Jackson misunderstood his “Uncle Sam” character

Even though Samuel L. Jackson is best known for acting in films and producing on certain occasions, he’s been connected with the NFL this year. While his recent comments about Lamar Jackson are definitely hilarious, he surprised everyone with his supporting role in Kendrick Lamar’s halftime show during Super Bowl LIX.

He popped up as Uncle Sam in February when the Philadelphia Eagles squared off against the Kansas City Chiefs in New Orleans. But on Jimmy Kimmel Live, the veteran actor admitted that he didn’t actually know he’d be part of the halftime performance until he showed up for rehearsals.

“I had no idea about any of that until we actually did dress rehearsals,” he said. And when Kimmel asked, “That was the first time you knew you were going to be dressed as Uncle Sam? Jackson replied that “That was the first time I knew we were doing a revolution.”

He later explained that he originally thought the Uncle Sam bit was just a fun play on his first name until he saw an actual American flag being used as a prop. In short, Jackson stopped by Jimmy Kimmel Live and casually dropped two surprises: a playful nod to the internet rumors linking him to Lamar Jackson, and the revelation that even he didn’t know he’d be part of the Super Bowl halftime show until the last minute.