Since entering the NFL, San Francisco 49ers star running back Christian McCaffrey has dealt with his fair share of injuries. In fact, since September 2020, McCaffrey has dealt with five separate injury issues where the sprain/strain was severe enough to be considered Grade 2 or higher. In all of those instances, McCaffrey missed at least five games.
This brings us to the new reports concerning just what McCaffrey plans to do once the 2025 NFL season comes to an end and, further more, why San Francisco's front office is even letting the All-Pro entertain the idea.
McCaffrey Playing in Offseason Flag Football Tourney Is a Terrible Idea
According to Ryan McFadden of ESPN.com, McCaffrey is one of several current NFL stars to have agreed to participate in an event named The Fanatics Flag Football Classic. This event has been put together by Tom Brady, who will also be participating, Fanatics, Fox Sports, and OBB Media. The three-team round robin tournament is scheduled to take place on March 21, 2026, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
In addition to McCaffrey and Brady, current and former players such as Saquon Barkley, CeeDee Lamb, Sauce Gardner, Myles Garrett, Brock Bowers, Maxx Crosby, Tyreek Hill, Odell Beckham Jr., and Rob Gronkowski are reportedly committed to participate in the event. McFadden's report also notes that professional athletes from other sports, as well as celebrities, who will also participate, will be announced in the coming months.
Again, it makes zero sense for McCaffrey to agree to do this, and even less sense for John Lynch and company to go along with it. When you add up all the red flags, starting with the NFL having nothing to do with this event, it is hard to find any upside to McCaffrey traveling to Saudi Arabia and risking injury.
There will certainly be a major financial gain made by the Niners' star and every other NFL player who agrees to do this. Exactly what that number will be is unknown. It seems safe to assume that it will be in the seven-figure range, though, given the type of money Saudi Arabia has thrown around in recent years with other sports.
If there is one saving grace for San Francisco fans with all of this, at least McCaffrey's head coach will be along for the ride as Kyle Shanahan, Pete Carroll, and Sean Payton have been tabbed as the coaches of the three teams to compete in this tournament.
Assuming he doesn't have a change of heart between now and March, here's hoping that McCaffrey is able to make it through the trip without doing any damage to his body that would negatively impact San Francisco's chances of competing in the NFC.