AJ McCarron shined at the collegiate level, leading the Alabama Crimson Tide to two national championships in 2012 and 2013. After an unfortunate stint in the NFLwho ended up with a knee injury, the quarterback shines in the XFL de Dwayne Johnson.
The salary difference between quarterbacks in the NFL and the XFL is abysmal, even among the reserves. Now, the starting quarterback for the St. Louis BattleHawks earns $60,000, far from the $4 million he earned last season in which he played top pro football with the Houston Texans.
That difference doesn’t matter to the ex-QB of the Cincinnati Bengals. In an interview with the St. Louis Post-DispatchMcCarron stated that one of the reasons he would rather start in the XFL than be a substitute in the NFL was because of his six-year-old son.. Throughout his NFL career, the quarterback earned $15.6 millionaccording to Spotrac.
“My six year old son loves watching my videos on YouTube, that’s a big reason why I chose this path.McCarron said. “He probably could have gone back to the NFL and made more money, but nobody knows what the future holds for him. I’m enjoying this and it’s a great way to make memories for me and my kids.”
After two games in the new XFL, McCarron has completed 40 of 62 throws for 374 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions.. In addition, he has rushed nine times for 53 yards and a score.
In Week 3 of the 2023 campaign, the BattleHawks will face the DC Defenders at Audi Field in a duel between undefeated teams. The Defenders have used Jordan Ta’amu and Deriq King at quarterbacks in the XFL’s comeback.
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AJ McCarron in the NFL
His journey in the NFL began in 2014 after being drafted in the fifth round of the Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals.. During his entire league career, the 32-year-old quarterback played in 17 regular-season games, making only four starts out of four. In that stretch, McCarron had 1,173 yards with six touchdowns and three interceptions on completion of 62.6 percent of his throws.
During his rookie year the Alabama graduate played in the playoffs. His rival in his turn, the Pittsburgh Steelers, allowed him to complete 23 of 41 shots, with a TD and an INT, he was sacked three times and suffered three fumbles.
After finishing his rookie contract, he signed a two-year contract with the Bills, but was later sent to the Raiders to be a backup to Derek Carr in 2018. The Oakland team released him and McCarron signed a one-year, $3 million deal with the Texans to replace Deshaun Watson. In 2021 he signed to back up Matt Ryan in Atlanta, but during training camp he tore ACLs in his knee.
