NFL Star Joe Burrow Shocks Eminem Fans With Slim Shady-Inspired Transformation

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Will the real Joe Burrow please stand up? 

The Cincinnati Bengals quarterback debuted a major hair transformation while walking into a team practice on July 23, and the bleached-blonde buzzcut made him appear nearly unrecognizable, with some fans even claiming he looks more like Eminem. 

But that comparison didn't come out of thin air. The Bengals' official account was the first to make the reference, adding a shoutout to the rapper's song "Just Lose It" when sharing photos of Joe, 27, rocking his new 'do with a hot pink t-shirt, floral-patterned shorts and slides.

In the caption of their July 23 Instagram post, the team quipped, "Guess who's back."

And fans weren't only in agreeance on Eminem and Joe's twinning moment. Some even came up with their own Slim Shady nods using one of the NFL star's nicknames, Joe Sheisty. 

"Shiesty back…tell a friend," one user commented on the post, while another added, "SLIM SHEISTY."

photosNFL Studs On and Off the Football Field

Others thought Joe's new style more likely took inspiration from an iconic movie character, with one user writing, "It's giving Ken from Barbie."

Another joked, "New nickname: Joe Kenough."

But some weren't ready to say goodbye to his luscious dirty blonde locks in the first place. 

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"I just can't…" one user mourned. "@joeyb_9 we need your hair back!"

As for Joe? He's just excited to be showing more sides of his personality with the world as of late. 

"I’m a pretty private person, and so I try to keep as much as I can to myself,” the athlete explained during an interview at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in June. “But I’m starting to branch out a little bit and get a little more comfortable sharing other parts of my personality."

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Noting that he's still "starting to feel the process out," Joe added, "This is really the first year that I felt comfortable sharing more sides of myself with the fans, I would say."

For the football player, opening up about who he is off the field is part of a mission to bring a younger crowd into the stadiums to watch him play. 

"The way the younger generation is going is they really want to see the personality of the players,” Joe explained. "The personality of the people playing the game, not quite as interested in what’s happening on the field, and more interested in who’s playing."

Read on to see more celebrities' winning hair transformations.

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