Fact Check: Did Jared Goff reject Elon Musk’s $270M offer at a charity event?
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Rumor has it Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff left billionaire Elon Musk stunned at a Los Angeles charity gala by rejecting a $270 million offer.
What's more? Goff supposedly told the Tesla CEO to "keep it and spend it on something that actually helps people.”
A viral post, which first surfaced on May 31 via the Facebook page Detroit Gridiron Heroes, painted the NFL star as a philanthropic hero who stunned a star-studded crowd with his response to the offer.
"Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff shocked the world by rejecting a staggering $270 million offer from billionaire Elon Musk, delivered during a high-profile charity event," the post stated. "Jared Goff's bold response—'Keep it and spend it on something that actually helps people!'—left the audience speechless and ignited a firestorm of reactions online. What drove Jared Goff to turn down such a life-changing sum, and how will this defiant stance shape his legacy?"
Fact Check: False
Snopes jumped into the huddle after readers flooded their inbox, trying to confirm whether Jared Goff really told Elon Musk to go fumble his millions. The fact-checking outlet found no evidence of the incident ever taking place.
The Facebook post linked out to a blog on tintinhthanh.online — a site reportedly notorious for inventing feel-good sports fiction. The article was loaded with made-up details, including a fake quote from an anonymous “source” alleging Goff turned down the money due to “vague social benefit claims.”
In fact, there was a fictional follow-up from Musk himself. The article claimed the SpaceX titan posted on X (formerly Twitter), “Didn’t expect that, but I respect Jared’s honesty. The funds will be reallocated to charitable causes.” However, there was no trace of this statement on his X account.
Snopes dug deeper and discovered this Goff-Musk tale had been slowly snowballing over time. The earliest version of the rumor dates back to April 2, when another Facebook page, Detroit Lions Nation, floated a much smaller (but equally fake) story about Goff turning down $10 million from Musk. That post barely caused a ripple.
Then Great Lakes Warriors recycled the same story on April 8, again pointing readers to the same suspect blog. By the end of May, the fantasy offer had already ballooned to a surreal $270 million and it went viral.
No proof charity event took place
For a story that claims to have taken place at a “high-profile charity event,” it’s mysteriously missing key details like the actual name, date, or location of the event. There are no photos, no credible sources, and no actual coverage from real outlets.
Despite combing through Google, Bing, and every major search engine, Snopes found zero legitimate media mentions of any Jared Goff–Elon Musk moment.
Instead, all real news about Goff has focused on football — specifically his upcoming season under new Lions offensive coordinator John Morton. There’s nothing out there to suggest he’s been involved in any kind of headline-grabbing interaction with Musk.
Meanwhile, that $270 million figure does have a connection to Musk, but not to Goff. That number mirrors what Musk reportedly shelled out in the last election cycle to support Donald Trump’s political comeback, per ABC News.
Elon Musk spent a lot to get Donald Trump elected
While Goff was busy prepping for the NFL season, Musk was on a different kind of battlefield. The billionaire poured over $270 million into campaign contributions during 2024, most of it aimed at boosting Trump.
The breakdown is rather eye-watering.
$238 million went to America PAC, a super PAC Musk started to help Trump retake the White House. Another $43 million went to RBG PAC, a group aiming to soften Trump’s messaging on abortion. And $1 million went to the Trump 47 Committee — a joint fundraising body for Trump and the RNC.
Although there were early reports suggesting Musk would donate $45 million every month, he later backpedaled saying the actual amount would be “much lower.”
