As the Father’s Day fever takes over the NFL, several players are sharing an emotional carousel of pictures with their dads, headlining the inseparable bond they share. Hall of Famer Jerry Rice was one of them. The 3x Super Bowl champion shared a deep bond with his father, who made him big from scratch. Coming from a very humble background, Rice values his father from the bottom of his heart.

Taking to his Instagram, the former 49er shared a sweet picture of his mom and dad, captioning it, “Happy Father’s Day Dad! Love you and miss you! I’m still trying to make you Proud!!” While Rice has already made it big in the sport, his dedication to making his father even more proud touched the fans’ hearts. Rice’s father, Joe Rice, was a brick mason who built houses by hand and was a father to 8 children, Jerry Rice being the 6th one.

Growing up in Crawford, Mississippi, Rice’s strength developed by catching bricks his brothers threw at him while working with their father. And that strength forged him to become the 1998 Super Bowl MVP and a 13x Pro Bowler, among several other records nestling on Rice’s shelves.

As special of a bond as Jerry Rice shares with his father, he shares an equally special bond with his son Brenden Rice. Jerry Rice was especially active in his son’s life for the 2024 NFL draft since his son was a part of it. Brenden Rice was drafted as the 255th overall by the Chargers in the 2024 NFL draft. But the combined efforts that made it happen were worth all the online banters exchanged between the father and son duo.

Jerry Rice and Brendon Rice banter

It was the time of the NFL Combine when the online banter started. It all started back when Brenden Rice swiftly crossed his father’s 4.7 seconds 40-yard dash record by completing his 40-yard dash in 4.5 seconds. While Rice was thoroughly impressed with his son’s speed, he quickly called out his posture. “He’s gotta drag that back foot,” Jerry Rice said, since his son held the bowl low and was almost off balance.

Brenden Rice, however, was ready with a comical retort, saying, “Pops a hater. I got two feet in.” While some banter is a staple in a father-son duo, Jerry Rice got pretty serious when his son remained undrafted since round 7. “My dad was hot,” Brenden Rice confessed post-draft. This only shows how concerned Jerry Rice is as a father. After all, he learned from the best, his father Joe Rice.