Cottage Grove man twinning with Justin Jefferson

Michael Roberts is not a wide receiver for the Minnesota Vikings, and when he tells excited would-be fans that fact, there’s some disappointment.

“I like to be truthful. I tell them no, and watch them get a little depressed,” said Michael Roberts, a Twin Cities real estate agent and ringer for Viking rookie record setter Justin Jefferson, with his high cheekbones, smile, and red-tinged goatee.

A Vikings fan-favorite, Jefferson was drafted in the first round of the 2020 NFL draft. He quickly became a top player, leading the league in receptions and receiving yards in 2022. Jefferson went on to receive a record-breaking contract extension in June of 2024 and since then has continued to deliver for the Vikings.

Disappointment that Roberts isn’t Jefferson goes both ways as WCCO Radio host Sheletta Brundidge swore her friend Michael Roberts was on her kids’ box of cereal. “What in the hell is going on?” Brundidge asked. “You know, because they put the athletes on the Wheaties boxes. I thought, maybe they’re putting realtors on the Cinnamon Toast Crunch boxes?” Brundidge thought Jefferson was Roberts. She, too, was disappointed.

It's true, Roberts is not making records in the NFL, but he is scoring big as a Black entrepreneur. As a successful real estate agent in the Twin Cities, Roberts talked about the hits he took trying to reach his professional goals while speaking to the crowd at this year’s Black Entrepreneurs’ Day at the Minnesota State Capitol in February.

“I may not have come from a wealthy family, but I promise you all, a wealthy family will come from me,” Roberts said at the event. After graduating from Augustana University, Roberts started in corporate America and realized that every boss didn’t look like him. He started juggling jobs like Uber, Lift, and construction work while building his real estate business. Roberts purchased his first home in 2018, secured his first tenant, and used that lease agreement to purchase and qualify for his second property, which he then refinanced to purchase a multiplex, which would become the start of his portfolio of townhomes, condos, and single-family homes in the Twin Cities.

So, while Roberts isn’t the darling of Viking fans and cannot hit the griddy like Jefferson, he has endured losing records in his lifetime.  

Roberts credits his determination to sidestep tackles to his mother, who had him when she was 14 and his sister two years later. “Together we navigated life from the streets of Chicago to the shelters of Minnesota,” Roberts recalled. His mother eventually obtained her degree in human services. “She dedicated her life to helping women navigate the system that helped her escape the revolving door of poverty.”

Roberts says the setbacks served as a training camp to his success. “My mother showed me struggles are not just obstacles, they are opportunities to grow and to guide others through your lived experience.”

Today, Roberts gives back coaching football and this fall wrestling, while also rooting for his three sons who play football in Cottage Grove.

So no, Roberts is not Jefferson, and while that fact may depress Vikings fans hoping for a selfie, Roberts’ story is impressive and worth telling, even if it doesn’t put his face on a cereal box… for now.