Los Angeles Rams Wide Receiver Cooper Kupp has signed a three-year contract extension with the Rams organization after a spectacular season in which he led the NFL in every major receiving category.
But when tweeting the news of his decision to stay with the Super Bowl champion Rams, Kupp, an outspoken Christian, didn’t forget to praise God for the opportunity.
“God is good. On the mountains and in the valleys, He has been with us every step of the way,” Kupp tweeted. “While we have been afforded the privilege to play such an amazing game, it is with humility we know each moment here is intentional, albeit temporary.”
“We pray each day to be a light in this world, filled and guided by His spirit, and to make the most of every day according to His will. For His Glory!” he added.
— Cooper Kupp (@CooperKupp) June 9, 2022
Kupp, 28, was named MVP after the Rams defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 23 – 20, in Super Bowl 55 last February.
He had one of the greatest seasons in football history last year in his first pairing with new Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford. Kupp led the NFL with 145 receptions for 1,947 yards and 16 touchdowns for Los Angeles, earning The Associated Press Offensive Player of the Year award as only the fourth player since the merger to lead the league in all three categories.
Kupp’s catches and yards were both the second-highest totals in NFL history, accomplished in a 17-game season. The first-time All-Pro racked up another 33 catches for 478 yards and four touchdowns in the postseason, capping the season with two TDs in the Super Bowl — including the eventual game-winning 1-yard TD catch with 1:25 to play.
But even with all of his success on the field, Kupp points to his faith in God that continues to move him forward.
Looking back. Thinking forward. pic.twitter.com/DC7KojjiYc
— Cooper Kupp (@CooperKupp) February 2, 2022
As CBN’s Faithwire reported in February, after his team beat the Bengals 23-20, Kupp said he believed God had revealed a vision to him in 2019 after the Rams lost to the Patriots. The vision showed him his team would make it to a future Super Bowl and that he would be designated the MVP.
“I don’t know what it was, there was just this vision that God revealed to me that we were going to come back, we were going to be a part of a Super Bowl, we were going to win it,” he said. “And somehow — somehow I was going to walk off the field as the MVP of the game.”
Kupp said he shared the vision with his wife and no one else. He also added that he played each game this season with that belief in the back of his mind.
“It was written already and I just got to play free knowing that I got to play from victory, not for victory,” he said. “I got to play in a place where I was validated not from anything that happened on the field but because of my worth in God, in my Father.”
“There was just this vision that God revealed to me…”
After winning Super Bowl MVP, Cooper Kupp reveals a vision he received from God three years ago after the Rams lost Super Bowl LIII.@CooperKupp @RamsNFL #SuperBowl https://t.co/oydVm3TbUN pic.twitter.com/bZrmjE2cEP
— Sports Spectrum (@Sports_Spectrum) February 14, 2022
Despite all of Kupp’s football success over the past year, the player’s main focus has always been on his relationship with Jesus. When Sports Spectrum Director of Media Jason Romano asked Kupp in an interview before the Super Bowl what God was showing him and teaching him, he focused on keeping first things first.
“I got to talk to him this week and ask him a question about what God was showing him and teaching him this season,” Romano said. “His answer was, ‘Well, I needed to be rooted in my purpose, and my purpose is Christ.'”
Kupp remarkably said he would have still considered it his “best year ever” even if the Rams lost every game and no Super Bowl was in sight due to his growing faith and positive relationships with teammates.
“That, to me, was just refreshing, because from the outside looking in, sure, you hope … that he’s walking the walk and talking the talk,” Romano said. “But then you get to talk to him directly, and he just lit up when I asked him a question about his faith, and that’s really neat to see.”
Kupp also credits his wife Anna Marie for his success on the field. He has said if it wasn’t for her, he probably wouldn’t be playing in the NFL.
The 28-year-old and his wife, who first met in high school, have relied on each other and their Christian faith since the start of his football career.
“We just were so aligned in terms of what our goals were and what we wanted to do moving forward and what we wanted to be about as a couple,” Cooper told ESPN. “And the belief that football was the community, was the place that I was supposed to be, that we were supposed to be, and that’s where God placed us.”
While they attended Eastern Washington University, Anna Marie worked at a restaurant to help pay for their college expenses. Cooper had simply become too tired from working his job to keep playing his best at football.
“I supported us monetarily through college,” Anna Marie said. “I was working full time so that he didn’t have to worry about that so that he could focus.”
Kupp told CBN in 2019 that he’s grateful for Anna Marie’s support and that God will always be his ultimate source of hope.
“At the very basic levels of my life, as a husband, as a father, as a football player, knowing how much of a failure I am at these things if it wasn’t for my faith, if it wasn’t for knowing that Christ has told me who I am in His eyes, and know that how far short I fall in all these things, that He’s bridged every gap and that He’s called me to even greater things,” he stated.
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