SPARTANBURG, S.C. — Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey made a deal with a 13-year-old fan waiting for him at the Panthers training camp in Spartanburg, South Carolina, and it was one to remember.
Mason Sims spent days researching McCaffrey before heading to the training camp at Wofford College hoping to get his autograph.
Sims learned Cool Ranch Doritos were McCaffrey’s favorite chips and he brought a bag in hopes that McCaffrey would trade them for his gloves.
McCaffrey ran over to give Sims an autograph on Thursday, but he didn’t have his gloves on him.
The running back star made a deal with Sims that if he brought Oreos the next day, he would give him a pair of gloves.
“Cool Ranch Doritos are my favorite flavor and one of my cheat meals, so when I saw them, I knew I had to sign his autograph,” McCaffrey said. “Turns out he didn’t only have great taste, but he was a great kid. It was a true gentleman’s trade.”
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Sims said his time with McCaffrey was special to him, as it helped him remember his father, Greg Sims, who passed away in January after battling COVID.
Sims and his father would collect Panthers memorabilia together.
“He was the person to connect me with football,” Sims said.
Sims said McCaffrey even gave him a high-five when he went to his first Panthers game with his dad.
The young fan wears the number 22 for his middle school football team in honor of McCaffrey.
Sims did come back on Friday with the Oreos. He didn’t get gloves in the exchange, but he did get a pair of signed cleats.
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Sims’ mother Amanda Sims said this moment will always be special for her and her son.
“(McCaffrey will) never know how much it means, just to see him smile and laugh,” she said.
Sims mom said when Mason returned from camp, the two of them laughed and imagined what his dad would have said about the trade.
“I bet Dad’s thinking, ‘All these years we went down there, and we never thought of the chips and the sign,’” Mason told her.
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(WATCH BELOW: Carolina Panthers players report to training camp at Wofford College)
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