Christian McCaffrey teams up with dad for Father’s Day surprise

Carolina Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey teamed up with his dad to provide a special Father’s Day surprise for US Military members.

The way Christian McCaffrey conducts himself off the field is almost as impressive as his production on it. The Carolina Panthers running back has been an advocate for military service members from the moment he entered the NFL in 2017. And this is a trend that is set to continue long into the future.

His latest gesture of goodwill involved father Ed, who himself was a standout performer in the NFL with the New York Giants, San Francisco 49ers, and Denver Broncos over an impressive 13-year career. This trend has been followed and surpassed by McCaffrey during an exceptional first three seasons in the league that earned him a four-year, $64 million extension this offseason.

The initiative, which was organized in partnership with USAA and the USO of North Carolina, saw the McCaffrey son and dad team up to provide a surprise message for an active-duty father and daughter.

This came in the form of a virtual video call, which clearly left the pair shaken given their passionate support of the Panthers. And the chat was arranged to honor those dads who cannot be with their loved ones on Father’s Day due to them being on active service.

Carolina Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey keen to do more

This is the latest in a series of good gestures from the best dual-threat player in the NFL relating to the military. In January, McCaffrey joined forces with USAA and MCA&F presented the Super Bowl trip of a lifetime to Sgt. Maj. Luis “Chino” Leiva and a guest of their choosing.

Speaking to Sporting News earlier this year, McCaffrey outlined his ambitions to more things to promote the military during his time as a pro. And it is evident the player gets as much out of it as those involved.

"“It’s something that I’ve taken a lot of pride in since I’ve had the opportunity to give back. The military is something I definitely wanted to target when I put together my team after I got drafted. That was the first thing that came up. ‘What can I do for that?’ It’s a very small thing to do but hopefully in the future we can do more stuff like that for not just one or multiple people. I have a lot of fun doing it. I get to meet cool people. I get to meet veterans and some active duty military members.”"

McCaffrey became only the third player in NFL history to go over 1,000-yards rushing and receiving in 2019. Whether he can produce these sorts of numbers next time around is up for debate. But the back might not need to thanks to the hire of Joe Brady as offensive coordinator.

He is well on course for a Pro Football Hall of Fame berth despite his tender age. And providing injuries do not take their toll in the coming years. McCaffrey has a real chance to go down in history as an all-time great.

USAA is an official NFL “Salute to Service” partner.