‘Da Beard’ Is Back as Brett Keisel To Officiate PBR Weddings in Pittsburgh

PBR immediately fell in love with Pittsburgh when the sport made its Steel City debut in late January 2025, and the city returned the favor with two rollicking sold-out nights.

When returning to Pittsburgh during the new Unleash The Beast season, this veritable love fest will reach new levels. With its Saturday Night show falling on Valentine’s Day, PBR will offer eight couples the opportunity to get married on the dirt.

Elite bull riding events are already known to be heart-pounding. This one, called The PBR Lovestruck Buck Off, will flutter hearts in an entirely different way. The “Till Dirt Do Us Part” promotion will turn PPG Paints Arena into the world’s wildest wedding chapel.

After all, nothing says true romance quite like a wedding ceremony when the groomsmen are 2,000-pound snot-slinging bulls.

The officiant? None other than two-time Pittsburgh Steeler Super Bowl Champion Brett Keisel. And he’s bringing his famous deer jerky to the reception.

Inside the arena last year, it would have been a challenge to find a fan having more fun than larger-than-life Keisel, who seemed to be friends with everyone in the house.

“I was hoping an event like PBR could come here because it’s so much fun,” he said. “It’s great entertainment and what these cowboys do for eight seconds at a time is insane. They are putting it all on the line. You can feel the tension – like when I’m about to go out the tunnel to play in a big game. You have this focus and determination on your face – that game face which is what big-time sports is all about.”

If there’s such a thing as royalty in Pittsburgh, Keiser sits on that throne. He spent his 13-season career playing defensive end for the Steelers and has raised more than $1 million for the local children’s hospital with his “Shear Da Beard” annual charity event.

Brett Keisel standing with a horse. — PBR

Keisel didn’t come to PBR to play cowboy; he literally is one. This is a man who once drove his tractor to the Steelers training camp.

He was raised on a Wyoming ranch, doing real ranch work: riding horses, roping, branding calves, running cattle, fixing fences, and caring for livestock. This wasn’t a hobby; it was daily life on a ranch with hundreds of cattle. That upbringing shaped his toughness, humility, and bond with animals.

After trading his football cleats for cowboy boots full time in 2014, Keisel and his wife Sarah and three kids made Pittsburgh their home. They have a farm east of the city as a place to get away and raise livestock just like back in Wyoming.

Many of the horses and cows are humorously named after Steelers coaches and teammates. James – for James Harrison, the undrafted free agent linebacker who became a five-time Pro Bowler – is his favorite.

Lovestruck couples are invited to apply for the honor of a VIP experience and Western wedding PBR style by submitting a short video here explaining why they should be selected to say, “I do” and officially tie the knot at the Lovestruck Buck Off. The application deadline is Jan. 7; selected couples will be notified by late January.

Keisel is locked and loaded, already ordained to perform marriage ceremony in the state of Pennsylvania.

“I don't know what says ‘love’ more than getting married by ‘Da Beard’ at PPG Paints Arena during PBR on Valentine’s Day! I love spreading the love,” he said. “You think about people, and the love that's in their eyes when they want to spend the rest of their lives together. When they say ‘I do,’ it’s a lifelong commitment to one another, and I get an opportunity to do that in front of a full house at PPG Paints Arena. Let’s go!”

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