Christian McCaffrey received the 15th annual USAA Salute to Service Award on Wednesday, and the San Francisco 49ers running back wants to be clear about one thing: this isn’t about a trophy. Speaking with PFSN and other reporters during Super Bowl 60 week, McCaffrey traced his military advocacy back to a statistic that changed how he viewed his platform.
“I read a statistic that 22 veterans commit suicide every day,” McCaffrey told PFSN. “That’s not a fun topic to talk about. It’s great to receive awards, but that’s why I’m doing this. I’m trying to chop down that number as much as possible.”
How a Colorado Childhood Built McCaffrey’s Military Mission
That number originally inspired the name of his foundation’s flagship initiative, first called 22 and Troops before being renamed 23 and Troops to match his jersey number. Since launching in 2021, the program has invested nearly $700,000 in military support, including $250,000 to REBOOT Recovery and a $250,000 partnership with Resilience Code to provide Special Operations forces veterans with a full year of personalized medical care.
McCaffrey’s approach is built on a specific premise: veterans deserve the same healthcare professional athletes receive. It’s a concept he returns to repeatedly, and one that separates his foundation from standard charitable giving.
“As an athlete, we get some of the best healthcare modalities, different tests and diagnostics on the planet,” McCaffrey said.
“One of the things our foundation does is try to take a lot of those healthcare practices and bring it to our veterans. A lot of times, mental health and emotional health is a huge deal. And if we can find that it’s being triggered by something physical, then we want to attack that as best we can to try to get them back on their feet.”
The connection didn’t form in an NFL locker room. McCaffrey grew up in Castle Rock, Colorado, roughly 30 minutes from the Air Force Academy. He competed in track meets on the Academy’s grounds as a high schooler at Valor Christian. Several of his childhood mentors were veterans.
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“A lot of your mentors end up becoming veterans, because they’re in the area, and you learn from them, you learn about their experiences,” McCaffrey said. “My parents instilled on me to respect the military and what it means to live in this country.”
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McCaffrey follows teammate George Kittle, who won the award in 2024, making it the second consecutive year a 49ers player has claimed the honor. Kittle served on the five-person panel of judges who selected this year’s recipient.
“Anytime you’re around guys like George, who have the personality and the play and is a Hall of Fame player, but then also loves giving back, it’s inspiring,” McCaffrey told PFSN.
McCaffrey will be recognized at NFL Honors on Thursday at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco. He’s also a finalist for AP MVP, Offensive Player of the Year, and Comeback Player of the Year after a 2025 season in which he posted 1,202 rushing yards, 924 receiving yards, and 17 total touchdowns while starting all 17 games. That came after a 2024 campaign limited to four games by Achilles tendonitis and a PCL injury.
But McCaffrey made clear during Super Bowl week that perspective governs everything he does off the field.
“We’re fighting out there, but they’re really fighting,” McCaffrey said of the military members his foundation supports. “We win or lose games, and maybe you get traded, and it feels like life or death, but it’s not. Our military members, it is life and death.”
He called his work an “all hands on deck” effort, noting that his foundation partners with other organizations rather than competing for visibility.
Asked what he’d tell the Patriots about Seattle’s defense after facing the Seahawks three times in 2025, McCaffrey smiled. “I would never give another team a scouting report,” he said. Some intel, McCaffrey keeps to himself. The work that matters most, he’s happy to share.