Brandon Aubrey is the current starting kicker for the Dallas Cowboys in the NFL. The American kicker is considered one of the best in the league, capable of throwing the ball from more than 50 yards with ease. But the curious thing about his story is that, at first, he was a MLS player.
The story of Brandon Aubrey
During his youth career, Aubrey dedicated himself exclusively to soccer. He was captain of the Dallas Texans SC from 1995 to 2010. He played as a central defender and they won five state championship titles. Later, Aubrey played four years of college soccer at the University of Notre Dame.
In 2017, the player was selected in the first round (21st overall) of the MLS SuperDraft by Toronto FC. However, he was not very successful, and in 2018, after playing with Bethlehem Steel FC, he was released. This is where the curious part of this story begins.
A year later, while watching an NFL game on television, a kicker missed a field goal and his wife said to him, “You can do that.” That’s how his journey into American football began. In the following years, he was a backup and kicking coach at Mississippi State. After two seasons, he got the opportunity to play in the NFL with the Dallas Cowboys. It was an opportunity he did not miss.
Since then, he has become one of the most important kickers in the league. He has achieved several records at a personal level, and also as a scorer. He broke Brett Maher’s record with the longest field goal in Cowboys history, with a 65-yard kick.
Kicker’s role and salary
The kicker only comes onto the field on three occasions: for a field goal, for an extra point or for a kick off. In the first two, his job is to hit the ball from a standstill and put it between the posts from a certain distance. In the last one, he has to clear the ball. With only these functions, the average salary of kickers is more than $2 million per season.