From Sleeping in a Car to Buying Dad's House

Josh Jacobs grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with his father, Marty, and four siblings. His parents had separated, and for a stretch of his childhood the family had no stable place to live. Jacobs has said that his father lost his job and that the family spent about two years moving from motel to motel, with their belongings in backpacks. At times they slept in a car, a memory he says he often returns to.

Football became his way forward. He played at the University of Alabama, and in the 2019 NFL Draft the Oakland Raiders took him with the 24th overall pick, a first-round selection. He had told parts of his story himself in an April piece for The Players' Tribune, and ESPN had also covered his path the previous spring.

His first professional season went well. As a rookie running back he rushed for 1,150 yards and seven touchdowns, even though a shoulder injury kept him out of three of the team's last four games. He ranked third in the league in rushing yards per game, behind Derrick Henry and Nick Chubb, and was considered a leading candidate for Offensive Rookie of the Year.

In January 2020, shortly after that season ended, Jacobs announced on social media that he had bought his father a brand-new house in Oklahoma. He wrote that he had just bought his pops a house, and the Raiders shared a video of the home.