{"id":2679,"date":"2023-03-08T16:13:34","date_gmt":"2023-03-08T16:13:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/strongermarriages\/?p=2679"},"modified":"2023-03-10T18:10:55","modified_gmt":"2023-03-10T18:10:55","slug":"dwayne-johnson-gives-former-nfl-quarterback-aj-mccarron-a-shoutout-for-placing-family-first","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/strongermarriages\/2023\/03\/dwayne-johnson-gives-former-nfl-quarterback-aj-mccarron-a-shoutout-for-placing-family-first.html","title":{"rendered":"Dwayne Johnson Gives Former NFL Quarterback AJ McCarron a Shoutout for Placing Family First"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Left: Eva Rinaldi \/ wikimedia.org Right: Keith Allison<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When quarterback AJ McCarron announced his decision to leave the NFL for the newly revamped XFL, it seemed like a real head scratcher. McCarron sat on the bench last year as the backup quarterback for the Cincinnati Bengals and was reportedly earning around $4 million in his last full season. He is estimated to make a 98.5 percent pay cut<\/a> with his decision to move to the XFL, where he will make an estimated $60,000 per season. However crazy such a decision appears, the quarterback revealed a very personal reason for the change- he wanted his kids to see him play. \u201cMy 6-year-old loves watching tape of me on YouTube. That\u2019s a big reason I chose to return this way,\u201d he told The Seattle Dispatch.<\/em> \u201cI probably could\u2019ve 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\u2019m enjoying this, and it\u2019s a great way to create some memories for me and my boys.\u201d After a he led the St. Louis Battlehawks to a 2-0 season, he expressed his gratitude for being able to play. \u201cEver since I came out of college, I\u2019ve been counted out a little bit. It\u2019s just fun to come out here and play, I missed playing. Not always just being a backup \u2014 and that\u2019s a great living, it really is, and I absolutely love it \u2014 but I love playing. This is special, and I can\u2019t thank the XFL enough,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The move earned him the praise of Dwayne Johnson, who is part of a group that purchased the XFL in a $15 million deal. \u201cTakes less money signing with us over the NFL because he wanted his little boys to see him play. Now he\u2019s 2-0 and led his team to back to back exciting last minute wins. I\u2019d say he\u2019s creating some memories for his boys,\u201d Johnson tweeted.<\/a> He also stated it meant a lot to him \u201cpersonally.\u201d Johnson often speaks on the importance of fatherhood and prioritizing his family. The former WWE star and actor previously discussed how he had put off the idea of a presidential run due to the ages of his two youngest girls. \u201cI love our country and everyone in it. I also love being a daddy. And that\u2019s the most important thing to me, is being a daddy. I know what it was like to be on the road and be so busy that I was absent for a lot of years when my first daughter [was] growing up. At this critical time in [my youngest daughters\u2019 lives], that\u2019s what the presidency would do. So, my number one priority is my daughters,\u201d he told \u201cCBS Sunday Morning<\/a>\u201d last October.<\/p>\n

Johnson wasn\u2019t the only one praising McCarron. Fans reacted mostly positively to McCarron\u2019s announcement that he would be joining the XFL. \u201cFootball best played when you can play! Go where u can play!\u201d said one fan. Another fan stated he was sure McCarron\u2019s finances were in order for the change. \u201cPeople in the replies are acting like he fumbled the bag with this move. Dude won two natties and married Miss Alabama all while in college, finances are not gonna be an issue for the family.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When quarterback AJ McCarron announced his decision to leave the NFL for the newly revamped XFL, it seemed like a real head scratcher. McCarron sat on the bench last year as the backup quarterback for the Cincinnati Bengals and was reportedly earning around $4 million in his last full season. He is estimated to make…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":664,"featured_media":2787,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2679","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nDwayne Johnson Gives Former NFL Quarterback AJ McCarron a Shoutout for Placing Family First<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Dwayne Johnson gives a special shoutout to AJ McCarron who recently chose to move form the NFL to the XFL in order to put his family first.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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