Quarterback Takes $4 Million Pay Cut So Sons Could See Him Play

AJ McCarron just made a personally priceless decision for his family that’s cost him nearly four million dollars. This is a guy who has lived a charmed life. As someone who has lived in Alabama, you cannot do better than AJ. He was the star, Alabama state championship winning quarterback in high school. McCarron became the quarterback for the University of Alabama Crimson Tide. He won two national championships. And he married “Miss Alabama.” Remember this moment?

AJ McCarron could have walked off into the sunset at that point and been an Alabama legend forever. He could have opened a car dealership, raised a family, never paid for a dinner or drink in a restaurant forever, etc. However, players want to play. AJ McCarron went to the NFL. And although he’s never been a starter, much less achieved the level of success he did in college, AJ’s had a financially successful life. He’s played six seasons and earned more than 15 million dollars as a backup quarterback for five different teams. McCarron made $4 million in his last season. He sat out the last two with injury but could have signed with another NFL team and continued as a career backup. However, players want to play.

AJ McCarron decided to sign a contract for $60,000 to play in the XFL. Play being the operative word and the impetus for this decision. McCarron told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “My 6-year-old loves watching tape of me on YouTube. That’s a big reason I chose to return this way. I probably could’ve tried to come back with an NFL team and had a chance to probably made bigger money, but no one knows what the future holds. I’m enjoying this, and it’s a great way to create some memories for me and my boys.”

"It's just fun to come out here and play. I've missed playing."

AJ McCarron is taking full advantage of another chance to play football again 👏 @XFL2023 I @XFLBattlehawks pic.twitter.com/vwHa4TeF8O
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) February 24, 2023

Oh, and if players just want to play, winners just win. AJ McCarron, the quarterback who won championships in high school and college, is 2-0 as the STARTING quarterback for the St. Louis Battlehawks.

List: NFL Players Who Played College Football In North Carolina

Both college and NFL football are in full swing. And for the state of North Carolina, the two leagues couldn’t be trending in different directions. The Carolina Panthers are 0-2 and on an eight-game losing streak dating back to last season. The team hasn’t won a home game in over a year. Meanwhile, NC State, Wake Forest, UNC, and Duke are all 3-0 going into week four of the college football season. And while Appalachian State is sitting at 2-1 they have had one of the best upset wins of the season knocking off SEC opponent Texas A&M in College Station. With all that talent in the state, it’s no surprise that there are a ton of NFL players who played college football in North Carolina.

The Schools

All the aforementioned schools are well represented with the four ACC schools each having double-digit players in the NFL. But we also have some alumni from East Carolina, Elon, Charlotte, Lenoir-Rhyne, and North Carolina A&T. If you’re counting that’s 10 schools represented at the highest level of football. That’s pretty awesome! Those players now play for 26 of the 32 NFL franchises including our own Carolina Panthers. Our first-round draft pick this year was Ikem Ekwanu out of NC State.

The Denver Broncos are the NFL team with the most players who played college football in North Carolina. There are 6 on the teams roster. This is coincidental as they are now my second NFL team now thanks to Russell Wilson and Bradley Chubb who both played at NC State. In addition to Chubb and Wilson, the Bronco have App receiver Jalen Virgil, UNC running back Javonte Williams, and Essang Bassey (safety) and Justin Strnad (linebacker) out of Wake Forest. The Cincinatti Bengals, Chicago Bears, and New York Giants each have 5 players representing the state.

So if you’ve given up on the Panthers, personally I’ll turn it on but will not be spending money on the team until they make some changes, maybe this list will give you a new vested interest in an NFL team. Hopefully one that will be representative of a few more wins. Below you’ll find a complete breakdown by university of each schools players that are currently on NFL rosters. This list is as of September 21st but keep in mind things are always changing.

Appalachian State
Akeen Davis- Gaither (Linebacker) Cincinnati Bengals

Colby Gosset (Guard) Atlanta Falcons

Shemar Jean-Charles (Cornerback) Green Bay Packers

Sam Martin (Punter) Buffalo Bills

Demetrius Taylor (Defensive End) Detriot Lions

Jalen Virgil (Wide Receiver) Denver Broncos
Charlotte
Alex Highsmith (Linebacker) Pittsburg Steelers

Larry Ogunjobi (Defensive Tackle) Pittsburg Steelers
Duke
Josh Blackwell (Cornerback) Chicago Bears

Michael Carter II (Cornerback) New York Jets

Jamison Crowder (Wide Receiver) Buffalo Bills

Victor Dimukeje (Linebacker) Arizona Cardinals

Noah Gray (Tight End) Kansas City Chiefs

Devery Hamilton (Offensive Tackle) New York Giants

Thomas Hennessy (Long Snapper) New York Jets

Deon Jackson (Running Back) Indianapolis Colts

Daniel Jones (Quarterback) New York Giants

Lucas Patrick (Guard) Chicago Bears

Chris Rumph II (Linebacker) Los Angeles Chargers

Laken Tomlinson (Guard) New York Jets
East Carolina
Zay Jones (Wide Receiver) Jacksonville Jaquars

D’Ante Smith (Guard) Cincinnati Bengals
Elon
Olisaemeka Udoh (Guard) Minnesota Vikings
Lenoir-Rhyne
Kyle Dugger (Safety) New England Patriots

Dareke Young (Wide Reciever) Seattle Seahawks
NC State
Garrett Bradbury (Center) Minnesota Vikings

Jacoby Brissett (Quarterback) Cleveland Browns

Bradley Chubb (Linebacker) Denver Broncos

AJ Cole (Punter) Las Vegas Raiders

Ikem Ekwonu (Offensive Tackle) Carolina Panthers

Trenton Gill (Punter) Chicago Bears

BJ Hill (Defensive Tackle) Cincinnati Bengals

Nyheim Hines (Running Back) Indianapolis Colts

Josh Jones (Safety) Seattle Seahawks

Justin Jones (Defensive Tackle) Chicago Bears

Alim NcNeill (Defensive Tackle) Detroit Lions

Jakobi Meyers (Wide Receiver) New England Patriots

Germaine Pratt (Linebacker) Cincinnati Bengals

James Smith-Williams (Defensive End) Washington Commanders

Kentavius Street (Defensive Tackle) New Orleans Saints

Joe Thuney (Guard) Kansas City Chiefs

Russell Wilson (Quarterback) Denver Broncos
North Carolina
Giovani Bernard (Running Back) Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Dyami Brown (Wide Reciever) Washington Commanders

Michael Carter (Running Back) New York Jets

Ty Chandler (Running Back) Minnesota Vikings

Joshua Ezeudu (Guard) New York Giants

Tomon Fox (Linebacker) New York Giants

Charlie Heck (Offensive Tackle) Houston Texans

Cole Holcomb (Linebacker) Washington Commanders

Mack Hollins (Wide Reciever) Las Vegas Raiders

Sam Howell (Quarterback) Washington Commanders

James Hurst (Offensive Tackle) New Orleans Saints

Robert Quinn (Linebacker) Chicago Bears

M.J. Stewart (Safety) Houston Texans

Mitch Trubisky (Quarterback) Pittsburgh Steelers

Antonio Williams (Running Back) New York Giants

Javonte Williams (Running Back) Denver Broncos
North Carolina A&T
Darryl Jonson (Defensive End) Seattle Seahawks
Wake Forest
Boogie Basham (Defensive End) Buffalo Bills

Essang Bassey (Cornerback) Denver Broncos

Jessie Bates III (Safety) Cincinnati Bengals

Greg Dortch (Wide Reciever) Arizona Cardinals

Phil Haynes (Guard) Seattle Seahawks

Justin Herron (Offensive Tackle) New England Patriots

Luke Masterson (Linebacker) Las Vegas Raiders

Justin Strnad (Linebacker) Denver Broncos

Ja’Sir Taylor (Cornerback) Los Angeles Chargers

Zach Tom (Guard) Green Bay Packers

Luiji Vilain (Linebacker) Minnesota Vikings

John Wolford (Quarterback) Los Angeles Rams