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Lions QB Jared Goff parlays Jared Jewelry sponsorship into $50,000 donation for Detroit non-profit

Justin Rogers, The Detroit News on

Published in Football

DETROIT — Life is unquestionably good, both personally and professionally, for Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff.

On the field, Goff is coming off a season where he led the Lions to their first division title in 30 years, and first playoff victories in 32. The city, which had been slow to embrace the quarterback when he first arrived via a trade in 2021, fully wrapped their arms around him during the playoff run, chanting his name not only at Ford Field, but other venues around the state.

Outside the gridiron, Goff is set to wed fiancée Christian Harper this offseason. So, beyond an elusive Super Bowl victory, things couldn't be going much better. On Tuesday, at a pre-draft event at The Detroit Club downtown, Goff was afforded the opportunity to share some of that good cheer through a sponsorship partner that shares his name, Jared Jewelry.

Joined by Harper, Goff presented a $50,000 check to Give Merit, a Detroit-based non-profit that works toward improving high school graduation rates in the city through its FATE program, while helping those students continue to chase their aspirations through college education.

Goff has previously partnered with Give Merit, working with some of the program's students in 2022 to design clothing for his JG16 brand. The proceeds from those sales were ultimately matched by Goff and donated back to the program. Give Merit co-founders David Merritt and Kuhu Saha were on hand to receive the donation.

"I can't speak highly enough about you two and what you mean to the community," Goff said. "Everything we've been able to work (on) together, I've been able to help you guys, but I think I've told you this before, it's been equally rewarding to me."

 

In addition to the contributions to Give Merit, Goff and the jeweler also awarded two Lions superfans with luxury watches from Swiss manufacture Breitling. He similarly gave the personal timepieces to his offensive linemen this offseason. The boxes for those watches had an inscription that read, "Every second of this year was timeless. Thank you for a historic season and bringing gridiron glory back to Detroit. Enjoy this gift by Jared. From your Jared."

One of the fans from Tuesday's program, Wisconsin native Michael Robinson, detailed how he frequently travels 500 miles each way to attend the team's home games at Ford Field. Not even a battle with sepsis could keep him away during the 2023 season. He shared that he went to the hospital for IV-administered treatment at 6 a.m., drove to and attended the game, and was back at the hospital at 11 p.m. for another round of medication.

A third watch was reserved for Elton Moore, the Lions longtime security director, who is retiring next month. The gift was a surprise for the beloved employee and the quarterback got choked up making the announcement.

"It's just his belief in me," Goff said when asked after the event to explain why he got emotional. "Right away, when I was traded here, he expressed that to me, letting me know he believes in me. He's not a coach, he's not a player, he doesn't watch practices or sit in meetings, but he's seen a lot of things around here. He had no reason to put his steadfast belief in me right away, but he did. He would tell me before games, 'You're the man. You're my guy.' It was stuff like through the weeks, throughout the year, and it meant a ton. I was happy to be able to honor him today."

Claudia Cividino, president of Jared, introduced Goff on Tuesday. She shared the partnership between the brand and player was inspired by fan signs at Ford Field that played off the company's "He went to Jared" slogan.


©2024 The Detroit News. Visit detroitnews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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