49ers WR Marquise Goodwin buys new house for mother and sister

ESPN logo
Friday, July 6, 2018

Wide receiver Marquise Goodwin has found a home with the San Francisco 49ers after a breakout season in 2017 and a three-year, $20 million contract extension.

He wanted those he loves to have a home too, so he bought a new house for his mother, Tamina, and sister Deja, who has cerebral palsy.

Thursday, he posted video of the unveiling.

Goodwin says that Deja has been a lifelong inspiration. She is usually confined to a wheelchair. Goodwin is 10 months older than his sister and when they were children they were inseparable.

"If Deja wasn't my sister, I feel like I would still be motivated but not in the way that I am today," Goodwin told ESPN in 2013. "Having a disabled sister, that's a lot more motivation, especially when she tells you growing up that she wishes she can be out there with the kids playing and she wishes she can be out there running around."

Doctors told their mother that Deja would not live beyond 6 months. But she continues to overcome the odds. On Sept. 17, she will celebrate her 27th birthday.

"It's very inspirational to me," Goodwin said. "To me, no doctor can determine when it's your time to go. God really knows, and He's the only one who can really give you the day. You just have to keep the faith and live the best you can each day."

Goodwin had a breakout season with career highs in catches (56) and receiving yards (962) to go with two touchdowns. He was third in the NFL with 17.2 yards per catch, and he had two of his three 100-yard games after quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was inserted as the starter.

The former Olympic long jumper signed with the 49ers in 2017 and was expected to be mostly used as a kick returner. But he developed a chemistry with Garoppolo, and was rewarded with the contract extension in March.