After Being Homeless as a Child, NFL Rookie Surprises Father with House

By Kayla Kunkel January 14, 2020 at 9:23am

Oakland Raiders rookie Josh Jacobs isn’t letting his recent success make him forget his humble beginnings.

After experiencing homelessness as a child and watching his father persevere through tough times to provide for him and his siblings, Jacob found the perfect way to thank him: a brand new house.

According to the NFL.com’s Jeffri Chadiha, Jacobs grew up with both of his parents in Tulsa, Oklahoma, until 2006. He was only 8 years old when his parents decided to separate, which eventually led to their divorce.

Jacobs, respecting his father’s wishes, stayed with his mother while his parents fought over custody, but he didn’t agree with his mother’s use of the child support money.

“My father would give her a stack of money,” he said. “She would go out and spend it and we’d be eating Salvation Army food. I would ask her how she could go spend that money and not have good food for us to eat.”

Jacobs said his mother kicked him out of her house for challenging her so he went to live with his father, Marty, instead.

His living situation didn’t improve once he went to live his father, however.

Marty was in the middle of downsizing to an apartment when Jacobs came to stay with him, but the apartment he had lined up fell through — leaving them homeless.

Until Marty was able to find another apartment, the pair either stayed with friends or slept in their Chevy Suburban. Jacobs would sleep in the backseat while Marty slept in the front seat with his gun his lap.

“I remember seeing him not sleep,” Jacobs said. “It’s crazy because I didn’t notice that I was sleeping in a car. I was just thinking that I was falling asleep and waking up. I didn’t think anything about it because I felt safe. He would just drive around until he found a place to sleep and then I’d get up the next day and go to school.”

A few months later, Marty was awarded custody of Jacob and his siblings, and thankfully Marty had found an apartment — albeit a small one.

“When I got home after court, I put some palettes on the floor and then went into my room and closed the door,” Marty told Chadiha. “I prayed to God and just said, ‘I have them now. So, what do I do?’

“The answer I heard back was pretty clear: I had to protect their destiny.”

Football became an outlet for Jacobs in middle school, and even though he began to notice that his family was different from others, he continued to persevere just like his dad did to provide for him and his siblings.

He wasn’t heavily recruited despite rushing for 2,704 yards and 31 touchdowns as a senior at McLain High School in Tulsa, but he eventually got an offer to play for Nick Saban at Alabama.

After helping the Crimson Tide win a national championship and two SEC titles, Jacobs was selected in the first round of the 2019 NFL draft (No. 24 overall) by the Raiders.

He rushed for 1,150 yards and seven touchdowns this season, earning a spot on the All-Rookie Team and contending for Offensive Rookie of the Year.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BzuLcIYnxT5/

The rising NFL star knew he wanted to give back to the man who sacrificed so much to help him chase his dreams.

Earlier this week, he was given the chance to give his father an emotional gift that shows he never forgot where he came from.

“Blessed just bought my pops a house,” Jacobs tweeted on Jan. 7.

Blessed just bought my pops a house ????

— Josh Jacobs (@iAM_JoshJacobs) January 7, 2020

Jacobs initially shared his father’s reaction to the gift on his Instagram stories, according to the Raiders’ website, but the team also shared the emotional moment on its Twitter.

“Why are you trying not to cry, dude?” Jacobs jokingly asked his father, who was obviously moved by his son’s kind gesture.

An unforgettable gesture.@iAM_JoshJacobs thanked his father for his sacrifices growing by buying him a home in Oklahoma.

More: https://t.co/KGdnecQbl4 pic.twitter.com/Jj5B39U6rN

— The Raiders (@Raiders) January 7, 2020