Is Connor McCaffery related to Christian McCaffrey? Exploring the family ties and careers of the two athletes

Former Iowa Hawkeyes guard Connor McCaffery and San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey's surnames might make anyone do a double-take. That said, some people are now asking whether the two athletes are related, to which the simple answer would be no. They are not related at all.

Despite their non-familial connection, these two athletes have followed distinct paths. The only commonality lies in their upbringing in sports families, a factor that significantly influenced their lives.

Connor McCaffery and Christian McCaffrey's backgrounds

The former Iowa guard (now a member of the Indiana Pacers coaching staff, as per ESPN) is the son of current Hawkeyes men's basketball head coach Fran McCaffery. He played a total of six seasons under his father in Iowa City, where he was a veritable rotation player. McCaffery was far from a star for the Hawkeyes, but he was a steady presence for the team all throughout.

As for the 49ers RB, he is the son of former NFL wide receiver Ed McCaffrey, who used to play for the New York Giants, Denver Broncos, and the 49ers himself. Aside from that, Christian McCaffrey studied and played college football at Stanford--almost 2,000 miles and a 29-hour drive away from the University of Iowa.

Perhaps the only way that people thought Connor McCaffery and Christian McCaffrey were related was their surnames. But a closer look at the spellings already reveals the truth--they're clearly not spelled the same. There could be some deep ancestral ties going on here that might explain the slight spelling differences, but that couldn't be confirmed.

What are Connor McCaffery and Christian McCaffrey known for?

At this point, it's arguably accepted that Connor McCaffery is more well-known now as the boyfriend of fellow Iowa Hawkeye Caitlin Clark.

He has shown immense support for his partner, most notably celebrating her decision to declare for the WNBA draft. But one could say few are as proud of McCaffery when Clark finally surpassed Pistol Pete Maravich's NCAA men's and women's all-time college basketball scoring record in a win against Ohio State on March 3rd.

As for Christian McCaffrey, the 49ers RB is known for his nickname "CMC" and his immense skill on the gridiron.

He was named the 2023 NFL Offensive Player of the Year, was the league's rushing yards leader in the same season, and is also a three-time First Team All-Pro honoree, among a host of other awards. In college, McCaffrey was also named the AP College Football Player of the Year, consensus All-American, and Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year all in 2015 alone.