A.J. Francis hopes to be a member of the Miami Dolphins come Week 1 in January. His backup plan for employment lies behind the wheel of a Dodge Charger.
While Francis awaits the return of NFL paychecks in July, he has taken up a second job as an Uber driver in South Florida. The 6-foot-5, 330-pound reserve defensive tackle has made $40 to $50 dollars per hour since joining the next generation taxi service in April.
"I'm not putting all my eggs in one basket," Francis told The Associated Press after a Dolphins OTAs practice wrapped on Monday. "Where I'm from, when you have a job, where are you when that job is over?"
The NFLPA says the average shelf life of an NFL player is just over three years, and Francis knows he's no lock to make Miami's final roster. He's been with the Dolphins since 2013, but has never appeared in a regular-season game. If he makes the team, he can earn $510,000 in salary. If he doesn't, he has his Charger to keep the income flowing.
"Yeah, I was kidding him about Uber or Yuber or whatever you call it," defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle said. "It's a little outside the box, but so is he."
Francis is known as a talker by teammates and coaches and has used his Uber pickups as an opportunity to polish his conversational skills for a potential future in broadcasting.
"People just think I'm some big dude in a nice car," he said. "I tell them at the end of the interview who I am, and the shock on their face is really funny."
There's nothing worse -- nothing -- than an Uber driver who talks too much. But at least Francis has an interesting story to tell.
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