Former Cincinnati Bengals star Chad Johnson gave out $500 birthday gifts to strangers

Jan. 10 (UPI) -- Cincinnati Bengals legend Chad Johnson was in the giving mood on his 40th birthday.

Johnson celebrated his birthday on Tuesday by giving out $500 to anyone who could prove that they shared his January 9 birthdate. The former NFL wide receiver last played in the league at 34 years old.

"Yo, I appreciate all the birthday wishes," Johnson said in a video on his social media accounts. "You know I love you, but it ain't about me. It definitely ain't about me. If your birthday is today, if your birthday is today, I want you to drop that PayPal with proof that today is your birthday. Y'all gonna get these blessings though. Y'all gonna get these blessings. If today is your birthday, drop that PayPal with proof that today is your birthday. I gotcha. It ain't even about me. This is about you."

Johnson puffed on a cigar and was riding in his car while filming the special message. He posted it at 3:05 p.m. The message has more than 1,000 likes, 250 retweets and 190 comments. His video was watched more than 52,000 times.

Most of the comments were photos of ID cards and passports, screenshots of Twitter birthdates and links to PayPal accounts. It doesn't appear Johnson couldn't respond to every message, but there were plenty of proud recipients.

"Thank you so much @ochocinco I really appreciate you," one Twitter user tweeted, including a screenshot of Johnson's $500 gift to her PayPal account. "Happy Birthday to us!!"

After another user thanked Johnson, he said "that $500 is for McDonald's."

Johnson was known for his charity throughout his 11-year NFL tenure. He regularly went to dinner and invited his large Twitter following to come along, paying for the bill. He also invited strangers to the movies and frequently did giveaways.

The two-time All-Pro and six-time Pro Bowler made more than $50 million in salary on the field during his football career, but he cleaned up off the field, with several endorsement deals.

Johnson, a South Florida native, has recently been working with Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown as he prepares for the NFL postseason.