Ed McCaffrey: Life as an NFL Player and Parent

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Ed McCaffrey has long known success on the football field. From his college days in Stanford, where he met his wife who was an accomplished soccer player for the university as well, to his playing days with the New York Giants, San Francisco 49ers and Denver Broncos from 1991 through 2003, his career found him as teammates with other legends of the sport and in rare company. His Super Bowl win with the 49ers and two victories with the Broncos put him in the game’s elite — plus a fourth ring from the Broncos as a team broadcaster during their most recent victory at Super Bowl 50.

But it was Super Bowl XXXII in San Diego when the Broncos upset the favored Green Bay Packers — think John Elway helicoptering his way into the end zone — that put the Colorado franchise over the hump after several tough Super Bowl losses years earlier. After his playing days, McCaffrey stayed involved in the sport, coaching at the high school and college level in Colorado and raising four sons who played college football, with three now in the NFL as either players or coaches, including Christian McCaffrey, who was a Heisman runner-up at Stanford and remains one of the game’s elite players.

In this conversation we talk with Ed about his playing days and what it was like to travel the NFL circuit with his teammates, his approach to getting his kids involved in sports, his background running youth sports camps, the inclusion of flag football at the 2028 Olympic Games and his burgeoning food empire that once featured his own breakfast cereal and now focuses on mustards, horseradish products and protein snacks. It’s a revealing conversation with someone who remains a hero in the towns in which he played.

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