As hundreds of celebrities, media personnel and former NFL greats descended on the Bay Area last week to celebrate football at Super Bowl LX, football and faith in Christ were celebrated in a powerful way at the annual Super Bowl Breakfast on Saturday morning.
The pinnacle of the morning, as it is each year, was the presentation of the esteemed Bart Starr Award, given this year to San Francisco 49ers star running back Christian McCaffrey.
>> Subscribe to Sports Spectrum Magazine for more stories where sports and faith connect <<
“I feel just immense gratitude as I’m standing up here receiving this award that means so much to me,” McCaffrey said as he began his acceptance speech at the breakfast.
According to its website, the Bart Starr Award is presented annually “to honor the NFL player who best exemplifies outstanding character and leadership in the home, on the field, and in the community.” McCaffrey posted about receiving the award on his Instagram account on Monday.
View this post on Instagram
In his speech, McCaffrey told of the joy of reaching a Super Bowl (which he did in February 2024 with the 49ers) followed by the discouragement of another season derailed by injuries (he played only four games in 2024-25).
“It was in those moments where God was the most evident,” McCaffrey said Saturday morning. “I found myself relying on many verses, one being Psalm 23: ‘The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want’ (v. 1). And that, to me, is something that I stuck with for that entire year.
“To stop wanting. To truly surrender. And that was something for me that in prayer and in my support staff and all the people who helped me, I didn’t make it about winning Super Bowls anymore. I didn’t make it about anything else other than surrendering to what the Lord had in store for me.”
Another Bible verse that McCaffrey said has deeply impacted him came from the Book of Exodus.
“The things that were consistent for me — that I truly believe I wouldn’t be standing up here without it — was God, my faith in Jesus, and the people around me. And the verse this year, that I gotta continue to say to myself, is Exodus 14:14, which is, ‘The Lord will fight for you, you must only be still.’ … When you know that all you have to do is be still, all you have to do is continue fighting, all you have to do is show up and do the best job you can, let God fight for you.”
McCaffrey played all 17 regular-season games in 2025-26, rushing for 1,202 yards and 10 touchdowns while catching 102 passes for 924 yards and seven touchdowns. The 49ers as a whole bounced back from a rough 2024-25 season by finishing 12-5 and earning the No. 6 seed in the NFC playoffs. There, they upended the reigning-champion Philadelphia Eagles in the wild-card round before falling to the eventual champions, the Seattle Seahawks, in the divisional round.
At NFL Honors on Thursday night, McCaffrey was rewarded for his big year by being named the 2025-26 NFL Comeback Player of the Year. He was also recognized that night for winning the Salute to Service Award.
However, being named the recipient of the Bart Starr Award seemed to mean a little something extra to the 29-year-old running back.
“To Athletes in Action, thanks for giving our faith a platform,” McCaffrey said as he concluded his acceptance speech. “Thanks for making this award not just about football but about people like myself and the communities that I’ve been so blessed to be a part of. I just want to say thank you guys for being here and standing for something bigger than yourself, just like we as football players do.”
Athletes in Action (AIA) is the sports wing of the campus ministry Cru. The Super Bowl Breakfast is organized and hosted each year by AIA, and the breakfast always ends with a Gospel presentation. On Saturday, it was Hall of Famer and legendary 49ers tight end Brent Jones who delivered the Good News of Jesus Christ.
“[Jesus] never did anything wrong, and He died on a cross to pay the price for all the things that I did — that we did — wrong,” Jones said. “Then He rose from the dead. More than 500 people saw Him after He rose, and many of them wrote about it in the Bible. He did all this so that you and I could be in relationship with God. To not have to earn His favor by what we do or what we say, but to be completely forgiven and in right standing with Him regardless of what we’ve done or said.
“So life in relationship with Him, today and for all eternity, is a free gift. Nothing you and I can do can earn it. All it takes is simply to acknowledge Jesus as your Savior and trust in Him to direct your life.”
>> Do you know Christ personally? Learn how you can commit your life to Him. <<
RELATED STORIES:
– Coach Mike Macdonald drives Seahawks to SB win: ‘God called me to be a coach’
– Christian McCaffrey scores 2 TDs, helps 49ers advance in playoffs: ‘God is good’
– 49ers star Christian McCaffrey says faith in Christ is ‘the most important thing’
– Minkah Fitzpatrick, Hall of Famer Mike Singletary honor Christ at SB Breakfast
– Kirk Cousins honored at 2023 SB Breakfast, where faith & football intersect
