The San Francisco 49ers will host the Carolina Panthers for Monday Night Football to close out Week 12 of the 2025 NFL season. It’s an important conference game for each team, as both are fighting for a playoff spot.
But beyond the football of it all, 49ers players wear their hearts on their feet with My Cause My Cleats.
“I think you can get so caught up in the ins and out of this league, how busy our schedules are and life is, and when you see stuff like that, it’s a great reminder of the kind of impact we can have on the younger generation, especially kids who are going through a really hard time, and you can be a source of light for them in their lives, so it’s a blessing to be a blessing,” said 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey, who will be representing Christian McCaffrey Foundation’s “The Logan Project.”
For CB Darrell Luter Jr., whose cause is American Cancer Society, his choice hits close to home.
“I do it every year,” Luter said. “It’s a representation of my grandmother. She died, passed away some years ago when I was young, due to breast cancer…[I]t means the world to me. That’s just my way of honoring her, in remembrance of her, keeping her on my mind every day.”
Safety Ji’Ayir Brown’s cleats will feature San Jose’s Fresh Lifeline’s for Youth, an organization whose “mission is to partner with youth to unlock their potential, disrupt the pipeline to prison, and advance justice in California and beyond.”
It’s a mission that resonates with Brown.
“That’s the one I gravitate towards the most, being that I come from areas such as those kids,” Brown said. “And man, it was times where I needed a lifeline and needed somebody to be there for support, so I just wanted to lend my support out to the kids who may be dealing with the same struggles and things that I dealt with when I was younger.”
Offensive Lineman Ben Bartch has been working with Big Brothers Big Sisters for several years, and his Little Brother designs his cleats.
“My cause is Big Brothers Big Sisters, and I have a little brother that I’ve had for three years, and he makes the design for the cleats every year,” Bartch said. “He’s in Florida. We got paired in Northeast Florida when I used to play there, and then now we stay in touch via FaceTime and stuff.”
49ers running back Brian Robinson Jr. was a victim of gun violence during a 2022 attempted robbery in Washington, DC, so the work of Everytown for Gun Safety is very personal.
“Whatever way I can give away my message, just to try to impact people or impact the youth or just send a message based off for the cause, I will,” said Robinson.
Tight end Luke Farrell’s a cause is Special Education, specifically Deepwood Foundation and Broadmoor School.
“Three of my closest friends are Special Ed teachers, and the school I’m working with (Broadmoor School in Ohio) is one that we’d visit in high school and play basketball with,” Farrell said. “It’s just something that’s always meant something.”
Center Jake Brendel has been working with the organization Living for Zachary for MCMC for many years.
“It’s a non-profit based out of the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and it was made by the parents of Zachary Shaw,” Brendel said. “He was one of my teammates back in high school, and one offseason workout fatally died of cardiac arrest, and his family has set out ever since to make sure it doesn’t happen to any other families across the US.
“They raise money to donate, whether it’s scholarships for future doctors or heart screenings in the area for all youth sports athletes. And then what’s really cool is if they find something within the athlete that they screen, then they screen the whole family as well for free.”
United Way of SW Alabama will be featured on defensive lineman Bryce Huff’s cleats.
“They’ve done a great job of helping improve my hometown and really providing for the kids in my hometown that may be less fortunate, doing a good job of taking care of the community, ao I wanted to do My Cause My Cleats to support them.”
It’s really wonderful to hear so many players talk about the causes and organizations they support and why. MCMC gives fans the chance to learn more about what is important to their favorite athletes off the field and helps bring awareness to organizations doing great work throughout the country.