FSU Alum: James Wilder Jr. skipping CFL season to pursue NFL dream

FSU alum James Wilder Jr. made a name for himself in the Canadian Football League in 2017 as the Rookie of the Year.

James Wilder Jr. could be the poster child for reality when it comes to young mean dreaming of playing in the NFL. After all, Wilder Jr. saw his father make it to the NFL as a running back, so it was only natural for him to want to pursue the same dream.

A five-star recruit coming out of HS, James Wilder Jr. had offers from every major college and ultimately choose to play at FSU and was one of the important players of the former regime era.

Wilder Jr. had a good career at FSU, winning two ACC titles and helped bring FSU its third national championship in 2013. He decided to pursue his dream of playing in the NFL by forgoing his senior year at FSU, but went undrafted in the 2014 NFL Draft.

Wilder Jr. signed with the Cincinnati Bengals as an undrafted free agent and then also with the Buffalo Bills before being released in September 2016.

CFL

He wanted to keep his football career alive and signed a two-year deal with the Toronto Argonauts of the CFL, and led them to a Grey Cup( CFL equivalent of Super Bowl) and won the CFL Most Outstanding Rookie Award.

His performance in the CFL was good enough to catch the eyes of several NFL teams, but the CFL contract wouldn’t allow him to leave to pursue his NFL dream.

That’s why James Wilder Jr. is planning to sit out the 2018 CFL season to chase his NFL dream. He recently spoke with 3downnation about why he’s sitting out the season.

Wilder Jr. Speaks

"It’s about my financial situation with my family. Football is a game of risk and I never cared about that, but at the pro stage, you usually have some backup if anything happens. It was a wake-up call after I got a concussion this year and played through injuries. If an injury was to happen here it’s just ‘thank you for the time you put in here’ and they send you home. I don’t want to be part of that statistic. I was very blessed to make it through a season, but now I don’t have any CFL finances. My friends wanted me to come train with them but I can’t afford to go train. I can’t put my body at risk, leave a country and family behind for a job when I could work here for the same money and not risk my body at all. Then not take the chance of injury and enter the NFL next year. I love the Argos, it’s nothing against the Argos, I love everybody at the Argos. I love Jim Popp, coach Trestman and everybody there. Just like they have to feed their kids I have to feed my family as well and $56,000 CDN before taxes doesn’t do it, especially when you have to pay housing in Canada and back home with four children, it’s just not enough."

Wilder Jr. went on to talk about his financial situation and why it’s not worth it for him to play next season in the CFL.

"But I’m not going back for $56,000 CDN. We have to do our taxes in Canada which takes us to about $34,000. Breaking bones, concussions that I dealt with last year – I’m not willing to do that again for $56,000. Now if Toronto wanted to negotiate for me to be in a more comfortable position or if they’re willing to give me a chance to pursue the NFL, I’m willing to do that. One per cent of all football players make it to the NFL, and to know that you have that opportunity and not being able to take advantage of it…  when I’m working construction, it eats me up every day."

Thoughts

How can you blame James Wilder Jr. for wanting to sit out the CFL season in 2018? The CFL season is only six months, so he you projected his salary over a year it’s six figures, but he’s getting destroyed by taxes.

Also, paying rent in Canada and paying rent back home for his family has to take a chunk of his finances. I’m not sure what he’s making working construction, but at least he’s closer to his children and not having to pay rent in Canada.

Let’s say he’s making $15 an hour at 60 hours per week.  That’s around $43,000 a year which likely is close to what he’s bringing home playing in the CFL after taxes, etc.

If Wilder were to only make a practice squad in the NFL he’d make $8,000 a week in 2018. There’s 16 weeks in a regular season which is $128,000 alone.

Next: Dalvin Cook Preparing for 2018 Return from Injury

It’s a no brainer why he’d want to pursue an NFL career instead of the CFL. My only advice to future players in his position is to get a release clause in their CFL contract to allow them to pursue an NFL career if the chance becomes available.