Christian McCaffrey has insisted his family is all sitting together after he paid for their Super Bowl tickets.
The fiancée of San Francisco 49ers star Olivia Culpo had tried to surprise his mother, Lisa, with a suite for the Super Bowl on Sunday, but McCaffrey revealed on Tuesday that he had to “ignore” her plans.
The running back doubled down on his comments Wednesday, insisting that he had stepped in to buy the tickets for his family instead of the former Miss Universe.
“Olivia tried so hard, but I’m not going to let anyone pay to see me play,” he told reporters in Las Vegas. “If my family has to pay to come see me play, something is seriously wrong.”
The MVP candidate confirmed that he made sure his entire family sat together, but when asked if he picked a suite, he simply emphasized that they were good seats.
Christian McCaffrey insisted that his family be at the Super Bowl after he bought their tickets
His fiancée Olivia Culpo had tried to surprise his mother with a suite for the big game
McCaffrey pictured with mother Lisa and father Ed after last week’s win over the Detroit Lions
The McCaffreys’ suite saga stems from claims by his mother that neither her NFL star son nor his model fiance could afford a suite during this year’s Super Bowl due to the astronomical prices.
It is believed that players will receive two free tickets to the Super Bowl, after which another thirteen will be offered for sale at face value.
Last week, the cheapest suite available cost $300,000 and contained just four tickets, while another was available for $420,000 with eight tickets. But for the suite with twenty tickets you would have to cough up a whopping $2.5 million.
McCaffrey is expected to make $11.8 million in 2024 and $12 million in 2025 as part of the contract he signed with the 49ers when he came over from the Carolina Panthers in 2022.
Despite, on her “Your Mom” podcast Lisa McCaffrey claimed the couple was priced out of a suite.
She said: ‘We looked at a suite and none of us can afford it. Not even Christian, moneybags there – and not moneybags Olivia either.
“So we’re not in a suite, I’ll tell you that straight away.”
Culpo said she picked up a Super Bowl suite for McCaffrey’s mother Lisa for her birthday
One site still has three suites for sale for the Super Bowl – ranging from $3,000 to $2.5 million
But Culpo responded to an Instagram post with quotes from Lisa, writing, “fake news! Happy birthday Lisa. I bought you a suite.”
But McCaffrey appears to have wrapped up his bride-to-be’s birthday surprise for his mother.
McCaffrey’s mother is married to former 49ers wide receiver Ed McCaffrey, who won the Super Bowl three times.
If Christian can win it with the 49ers, they will become only the second father and son in NFL history to win a Super Bowl with the same franchise.