Christian McCaffrey and Luke McCaffrey may be built for Football Sundays, but on Monday afternoon (February 2), the NFL brothers were built for the Drive-Thru.
Ahead of the Pro Bowl Games and Super Bowl LX this week, the siblings clocked in at Raising Cane’s Colma-area restaurant for a brother-versus-brother “Raising Cane’s Challenge,” serving Box Combos, greeting fans, and turning lemon-squeezing into a competitive sport. But between stacking cups and pumping Cane’s Sauce, Celeb Secrets caught the brothers in rare, reflective mode, where they opened up about what it really means to chase the NFL dream side-by-side.
“To have a brother playing at the same time, to be able to train with him and talk the same talk — it’s such a blessing,” Christian shared in a media session. “I just wanted to make it to the NFL. Now to have a brother here too? We look back on our childhood all the time. Everything we did, we did together.”
Luke didn’t hesitate to agree, framing their current reality as something they once only imagined.
“We grew up pretending to do this — pretending to play in the NFL, pretending to go against each other,” he said.
“So when you get here, you realize you never had to stop pretending. You kind of just kept that dream alive.”
That lifelong competition was on full display at Cane’s. Whether they were racing through challenges or playfully trash-talking behind the counter, as Christian admitted, this dynamic has always fueled them.
“There’s not a little competition… there’s a lot,” he laughed. “Four boys in our family meant two-on-two everything. Snow football, indoor basketball — whatever it was, we were competing.”
In present day, that rivalry has evolved into something more collaborative and strategic.
“Every time you compete, you learn something about yourself and about each other,” Luke told Celeb Secrets and other reporters in the media session. “I think when you have somebody who has a very similar background to you, it’s cool because you can bounce so many things off each other, you know? I think when you get to this stage, a lot of people don’t have that, so I think just having that as a resource — having that as a piece in your life is so special.”
Christian added that playing different positions has only strengthened their on-field connection.
“I run routes a lot out of the backfield and do all these different things and he plays receiver. I’m obviously older than him and, you know, calling me a mentor to him… but I also take a lot from him. He’s an unbelievable receiver, so I’m always watching and trying to pick up things that he does that maybe I can add to my game and I’m sure vice versa,” the 29-year-old shared with us. ”
“So that’s what makes it fun too — there’s such a healthy competition. The strength and conditioning stuff is great ’cause you get to do it together, but also just the fundamentals of football and different things that we take from each other has been really cool.
That same energy carried straight into their Raising Cane’s takeover, where the brothers went head-to-head in Cane’s Crew challenges — squeezing lemons, stacking cups, pumping sauce, and drawing the Cane’s logo — while serving fans Box Combos in the Drive-Thru and posing for selfies inside the packed Colma restaurant.
And when it came to why they jumped at the chance to partner with Cane’s during one of the busiest weeks of Christian’s career?
“We were just excited about the chicken,” Christian deadpanned. “Now it’s a double whammy.”
Luke, meanwhile, revealed Cane’s has long been part of his NFL journey — whether he liked it or not.
“My rookie year, every away trip, I had to go get Raising Cane’s for everyone,” he laughed. “My car smelled like Cane’s for months. Every time I got in, I got hungry.”
As Christian prepares for his fourth Pro Bowl appearance today (February 3), the Cane’s event felt less like a publicity stop and more like a full-circle moment, as he turned the lead-up to football’s biggest week into something fan-first, family-driven, and genuinely fun.
“One of the coolest parts about playing professional sports is having an impact on the younger generation,” Christian told media. “Now being in this position… it’s one of the greatest responsibilities we get.”
Interview quotes have been edited and condensed for clarity. For more coverage from Super Bowl LX, click here.
