{"id":1551602,"date":"2023-02-24T20:14:07","date_gmt":"2023-02-25T01:14:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/?p=1551602"},"modified":"2024-03-28T14:31:51","modified_gmt":"2024-03-28T18:31:51","slug":"xfl-the-rock-loves-battlehawks-qb-aj-mccarron-reason-not-playing-nfl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/xfl-the-rock-loves-battlehawks-qb-aj-mccarron-reason-not-playing-nfl\/","title":{"rendered":"The Rock Loves Battlehawks QB AJ McCarron's Reason for Playing in XFL and Not NFL"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Of all the familiar names<\/a> in the new XFL<\/a>, former Alabama and NFL quarterback AJ McCarron is one of the best-known players. The 32-year-old signal-caller won three national championships with the Crimson Tide before playing in the NFL for eight seasons. Now, he is the starting QB for the St. Louis Battlehawks in the XFL, and his reason for taking that job is so heartwarming even the league's owner, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, loves it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AJ McCarron is living out his dream by picking the XFL over the NFL<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"XFL,
(L-R) XFL owner Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson<\/a>, St. Louis Battlehawks QB AJ McCarron | Scott Taetsch\/Getty Images; Ronald Cortes\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

St. Louis Battlehawks QB AJ McCarron is proving that the NFL isn't necessarily the be-all and end-all of professional football.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The veteran signal-caller signed on with the Battlehawks in the third iteration of the XFL. As a quarterback in the league, McCarron is making approximately $59,000<\/a> for the season, with $20,000 in additional benefits and $1,000 per team win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And he took this job despite having offers to be a backup in the NFL.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During his last NFL season in 2021, before an ACL injury ended his year, McCarron made $1.2 million as a backup for the Atlanta Falcons. If the QB took one of those backup jobs available to him last season, he would have made that same amount, as it is the veteran minimum for a player with eight seasons of service time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, why did AJ McCarron take a million-plus-dollar pay cut to join the XFL? So that his kids could watch him play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

McCarron has three children with his wife<\/a>, model and television personality Katherine Webb. The couple didn't have their first child until 2016, three years into his career as an NFL benchwarmer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“My 6-year-old loves watching tape of me on YouTube. That's a big reason I chose to return this way,” McCarron told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch<\/a>. “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.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The QB took the job in the lesser league for way less money because he wanted his children to see him get to actually play quarterback in a professional football game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And “The Rock” loves it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson loves what McCarron is doing<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Man I love everything about this.
Can\u2019t ever count guys like AJ out.
They play for something deeper.
I root for and say \u2018thank you\u2019 to @10AJMcCarron<\/a> and all our XFL players. #XFL<\/a> #KawNation<\/a> https:\/\/t.co\/IBRI3P6plZ<\/a><\/p>— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) February 24, 2023<\/a><\/blockquote>