With Tim Tebow no longer in the NFL and pursuing a baseball career, there hasn’t been a Christian athlete raised to the same level of popularity and a platform from which to influence millions. But I believe this is about to change. Derek Carr is poised to ascend to the same level of influence and far exceed Tebow in financial gain. Derek Carr is the fastest emerging quarterback in the NFL. People are paying attention to him more now, and as he has enjoyed doing his whole career, he’s been pointing them to Christ.
Derek Carr recently signed a contract extension of $125 million for 5 years. In case you’re too lazy to do the math, that’s $25 million/ year. And in case you are less familiar with NFL contracts, this would make Derek Carr the highest paid player in NFL history in terms of the team contract alone. The excitement surrounding his contract signing has given him all sorts of notoriety. Watch how he uses the platform he’s given.
I want to first emphasized how he talked about tithing. That is a scary word for too many who go to church. Now I don’t think a very rich person tithing is a convincing argument. He’s rich, he can afford to. However he’s not tithing because of what he has, he’s tithing because of who he loves. There is a clear difference. By his words and how he expressed how he tithed even when e had little. Derek Carr has the mentality that because he has all this money, he can use it to glorify God and love others. Giving to God out of what you have shows your love for God especially when you have less. And I write this as someone who doesn’t have a whole lot.
Derek Carr also has a mentality of using what God has given him. Talent, fame, and money are all blessings God has given him and Carr seems to want to use his gifts for God’s purpose. He expresses how he wants to use his resources to love other people. I write this so that Christian entrepreneurs trust God by tithing when money is small and seek new ways to love others and further God’s kingdom if and when they make it big. It’s always joyful to see a brother or sister in Christ rise so high, and an even greater joy to see them use their blessings to glorify God.
“His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.'” Matthew 25:21 NASB
