Christian McCaffrey traded some gear to a fan for his favorite snacks

SPARTANBURG, S.C. — There were no bags of Cool Ranch Doritos or Oreos being offered Saturday as Carolina Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey made his way down the stadium wall draped by screaming fans at Wofford's Gibbs Stadium.

There were just footballs, jerseys, signs and mini football helmets, typical things brought to training camp in hopes of getting them autographed.

That wasn't the case earlier in the week when McCaffrey ran into 13-year-old Mason Sims at an adjacent field, the teen's arms stretched over the fence with a homemade sign and Cool Ranch Doritos.

Mason had done his homework, reading a story in which McCaffrey said how much he enjoyed those chips and cookies as his go-to cheat snacks. So he came to camp with the Doritos and a sign proposing a deal, figuring there was no way McCaffrey wouldn't trade his gloves for them.

Mason wanted the gloves to add to his collection of Carolina souvenirs he began with his father, Greg, who died of COVID-19 in January. He got more than he bargained for as McCaffrey surprised him 24 hours after their initial visit with a pair of autographed cleats.

«It's funny how the world works,'' McCaffrey said Saturday after signing „CMC'' to more than 75 items. “I can't get to everybody here, obviously. You want to sign everything, but don't have time.

»One of the kids I ended up signing for, it had a big impact on him, so it was a pretty special moment.''

The moment began Thursday when McCaffrey first met Mason with his proposed trade of Doritos for gloves. Only McCaffrey didn't have his gloves, so he proposed Mason come back the next day with a bag of Oreos to finalize the deal.

That's when he got McCaffrey's autograph and cleats.

McCaffrey has been Mason's favorite player