Christian McCaffrey Has Had Quite The Transformation

When it comes to superstar NFL teams, the San Francisco 49ers are right up there. The NFL lauds the team for its dynastic roster of legendary players and Hall of Famers, including Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, and Terrell Owens, among others. Given his stellar career to date, Christian McCaffrey is all set to join those hallowed ranks in the future.

The 49ers are also NFL pioneers. The Bleacher Report notes they were formed in 1946, making them San Francisco's first pro team and one of the West Coast's primo franchises. During their 75-plus years, the 49ers have racked up a long list of accolades, including five Super Bowl titles: 1982, 1985, 1989, 1990, and 1995, and seven NFC championships, per Britannica.

There are a lot of little boys out there who dream of being signed to the 49ers one day. McCaffrey achieved that dream in 2022 when he was 26 years old. Fox News hails McCaffrey as an excellent 49ers player, as he's already overshadowed Rice, beating the latter's previously held franchise record of scoring a touchdown in 12 straight games. Meanwhile, McCaffrey's record of 600 scrimmage yards and seven total touchdowns in the first four games of the year seals his place alongside NFL past greats Emmitt Smith and Jim Brown. However, the athlete had to work hard for his place in the legendary team. We're taking a look at McCaffrey's transformation from Colorado schoolboy to 49ers' running back.

Christian McCaffrey was born June 7, 1996, in Colorado, and it seems as though he was destined for great things from birth, with athletic prowess running in his genes. Per OSDB Sports, Christian's dad Ed McCaffrey played wide receiver for Stanford before going pro. His mom Lisa McCaffrey was a Stanford soccer star.

Christian excelled at sports from a young age, according to OSDB Sports. He attended Valor Christian High School, where he was an outstanding track and field athlete, clocking 10.75 seconds in the 100 meters. However, Christian really shone playing football. The teen smashed a slew of high school records and was Colorado's Football Player of the Year for 2012 and 2013.

Growing up, Christian lived, slept, and dreamed football. His father, who has three Super Bowl wins to his name, was determined for his son to follow in his cleats and subjected him to a grueling training regime. "[He had us doing] dynamic warm-ups, no sodas, bedtime 7:30," Christian told Sport Pod Digest. "It's, like, hard when you're a kid, now it's not hard." He shared that Ed confiscated his phone after a certain time until high school and insisted on a strict, regimented diet program. He would ground his young son if he got jersey tackled and take him to get IV drips during high school off-periods. "Just sailing IVs game day," Christian joked. All the blood, sweat, and tears paid off, and in 2014, Christian headed off to Stanford.

Christian McCaffrey's parents, Lisa and Ed McCaffrey, both attended Stanford, so it was a no-brainer that he would too. "My dad told me, 'If God gave you abilities to do something, it's important to use those to the fullest of your potential,'" Christian shared in an interview with "We Are Press." It's advice he took very seriously, riding the runner and seeding the ball like a pro from the very first whistle.

Christian had an outstanding freshman year, scoring a 52-yard receiving touchdown in his debut game, per OSDB Sports. He went from strength to strength. Christian's sophomore season saw him smashing old records and setting new ones. He finished second in the United States and first in Stanford's history to rush for 2,000 in a season. Not surprisingly, Christian was showered with awards and accolades. He narrowly missed out on the 2015 Heisman Trophy, coming second to Derrick Henry. Still, he bagged the titles of Associated Press College Football Player of the Year and Pac-12 Player of the Year.

Christian clocked over 100 rushing and receiving yards in the Rose Bowl and set a new record with 368 all-purpose yards, according to Go Stanford. He continued to break records throughout his junior year, rounding out 2016 as the newly crowned CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year before being chosen in the 2017 NFL Draft.

Christian McCaffrey entered the 2017 NFL Draft with high expectations. True to form, he met them. "I got to spend this day with my family and friends in the comfort of my home," he posted on Instagram. "As I go into year 6 and reflect on the highs and lows of my career, I find myself extremely thankful for the people who have stuck with me through some amazing, incredible highs and some extremely tough lows."

The Stanford running back was the eighth overall pick and bagged by the Carolina Panthers. Sports Illustrated opined that McCaffrey was "officially tasked with helping resuscitate Carolina's offense." So, no pressure there, then. Luckily, McCaffrey was up for the challenge and quickly made a name for himself in the pro sports world. In 2020, he signed a four-year, $64 million contract extension with the Panthers, making him the game's highest-paid running back ever at the time, per Forbes.

At the time, McCaffrey said he wanted to remain in North Carolina and play for the Panthers for the rest of his career. "I bought a place in Charlotte; I love the Carolinas more than anywhere in the world," he said in a virtual presser. "It's somewhere I want to call home forever. I didn't want to leave, to be honest with you, and I don't think they wanted me to leave either." Meanwhile, McCaffrey's star began to rise outside of the NFL as his personal life started making the headlines. 

With his glittering NFL career, Christian McCaffrey was used to starring in the sports pages. However, in 2019, he also began cropping up in the show biz pages. McCaffrey came onto the tabloid radar when he started dating former Miss USA and reality star Olivia Culpo. The rumor mill had gone into overdrive in May 2019 after sports writer Dov Kleiman shared a screenshot of a Culpo Instagram post that McCaffrey liked. "Is Christian McCaffrey not aware that Danny Amendola will seriously go crazy about this?" Kleinman wrote, referencing Culpo's two-time Super Bowl champ ex-boyfriend. "Also, earlier last month, McCaffrey and Culpo started to follow each other on IG when they were in LA."

McCaffrey and Culpo soon went public once the cat was out of the bag. In July 2019, they were snapped getting cozy on a Mexican vacation with friends, per People. In November 2019 they took the next step and went Instagram official. "Proud of you! @oliviaculpo," McCaffrey posted to his story (via New York Post) along with pics of Culpo on a Sports Illustrated shoot. "My eyes are half open here, but this made my day, @christianmccaffrey," she replied.

Culpo and McCaffrey's relationship started as long distance, with her in Los Angeles and him in North Carolina. Still, she was a regular fixture at Panthers games, cheering her running back beau on from the stands. The couple didn't take long to progress to the next level.

Sports pundits were surprised when the San Francisco 49ers traded a parcel of picks to the Carolina Panthers in return for Christian McCaffrey in October 2022. McCaffrey had also been surprised and admitted the decision to offload him had bothered him at first. However, his ill-will turned to gratitude soon after he put on the number 23 shirt. "In hindsight, I firmly believe it's the best thing that ever happened to me," McCaffrey admitted at the Dwight Clark Legacy Series in May 2023 (via NBC Sports). "But at the time, it was bittersweet, right? You're leaving. In my head, I was p****d off, to be frank. I felt like, 'You guys don't want me anymore.'"

One benefit of transferring to California was McCaffrey would be in the same state as Olivia Culpo. The couple's relationship continued to flourish, and Culpo was thrilled by the trade — albeit nostalgic at the same time. "This city stole my heart, and I'll never forget the memories and people who made the last 3+ years so special," she posted on Instagram along with a montage of McCaffrey's Panthers' highlights. "I'll miss you all so much, and you'll always hold a special place in my heart."

Still, Culpo was ready to swap the blue, black, and silver for the red, gold, and white. "I'm beyond excited and grateful for this next chapter in Cali, the place I've called home for the last 8 years," she wrote. "Niners Nation, let's go!"

Christian McCaffrey proved he was in it for the long run when he asked Olivia Culpo to marry him in April 2023. The couple posted pics from the romantic proposal on Instagram. In one of the photos, McCaffrey is seen down on one knee, offering a ring box to Culpo as she holds her hands to her face in delight. In another, Culpo shows off a gigantic diamond sparkler on her wedding finger as she embraces her new fiancé.

"I had no idea it was going to happen," Culpo gushed about the proposal in an interview on Amazon Live days later. "Christian deserves an Oscar for his performance. He was leading me astray the entire time. I kept asking him if he was ready to get engaged or if he had any timeline in mind because I was starting to get kind of annoyed ... he never let out a peep."

The model immediately sprung into wedding planner mode. Culpo said she was trying to pinpoint a location, juggling her parents' desire to see her tie the knot in Newport with her choice of somewhere in the mountains. "It's so much work," she said. Culpo shared that she wanted to marry sooner rather than later "because I want to have little babies, so that would be amazing." Culpo announced in an October 2023 TikTok video that the couple settled on holding the wedding in her home state of Rhode Island.