Lists of starting quarterbacks in the XFL

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In American football, the starting quarterback is typically viewed as the leader of a team. [1] The quarterback is considered the most important position on the field and among the most important positions in team sports. [2] [3] They are among the most high-profile athletes in North America and have been described as akin to A-list celebrities; [4] in the XFL, such quarterbacks benefit from national television exposure and in-game action that they may not get as backup or practice squad quarterbacks in the National Football League; former New York Guardians starter Matt McGloin, former Dallas Renegades starting quarterback Landry Jones and current St. Louis Battlehawks quarterback AJ McCarron all cited the ability to have their friends and family see them play professional football as reasons why they chose to play in the league. [5] [6] [7] The success of an American football team often rests on the quarterback; thus, teams will go to great lengths to find a franchise quarterback to build around for the long-term goals of the team. This page contains the lists of starting quarterbacks for the eight teams that played in the XFL, a league that operated for 1½ seasons as a standalone league in 2020 and 2023; four of those eight teams now constitute the XFL Conference of the United Football League.

Contents

Starting quarterbacks in the XFL receive a substantially higher salary than backups and other position players. In the 2020 season, the salary for an XFL starting quarterback was $495,000 plus a $2,222 bonus for every game won as a member of the team; [8] the "average quarterback" on a 2020 XFL roster was reputed to make $125,000, compared to $55,000 for other position players, with both figures including bonuses. [9] The presumed starting quarterbacks were also assigned by the league office and not subject to the 2020 XFL Draft, though this did not guarantee they would start. [10] For 2023, the highest paid XFL starting quarterback, Brett Hundley, earned $200,000 in base salary, [11] while Jordan Ta'amu and McCarron both made over $100,000, in addition to win bonuses. [12] The XFL structure stood in contrast to the United States Football League, which purposely chose an egalitarian structure paying all players equally regardless of position; [13] as a result, McCarron and Ta'amu were initially hesitant to stay with their teams as they transitioned to the UFL, which operates under the USFL's collective bargaining agreement (CBA). [14] The USFL's player's union, United Steelworkers Local 9004, gave its permission for the league to sign players at a higher salary, stating that it would only enforce the relevant clause in the CBA as a minimum salary, not a hard salary cap, and openly encouraged the league to sign McCarron, offering to make union dues optional. [15]

Arlington Renegades

Season(s)Regular seasonPlayoffs
Dallas Renegades
2020 Landry Jones (3) / Philip Nelson (2)
Arlington Renegades
2023 Kyle Sloter (4) / Drew Plitt (3) / Luis Perez (3)Luis Perez (2)

DC Defenders

Season(s)Regular seasonPlayoffs
2020 Cardale Jones (5)
2023 Jordan Ta'amu (10)Jordan Ta'amu (2)

Houston Roughnecks

Season(s)Regular seasonPlayoffs
2020 P. J. Walker (5)
2023 Brandon Silvers (8) / Cole McDonald (2)Brandon Silvers (1)

Orlando Guardians

Season(s)Regular season
New York Guardians
2020 Matt McGloin (3) / Luis Perez (2)
Orlando Guardians
2023 Paxton Lynch (5) / Quinten Dormady (4) / Deondre Francois (1)

St. Louis Battlehawks

Season(s)Regular season
2020 Jordan Ta'amu (5)
2023 A. J. McCarron (9) / Nick Tiano (1)

Seattle Sea Dragons

Season(s)Regular seasonPlayoffs
Seattle Dragons
2020 Brandon Silvers (4) / B. J. Daniels (1)
Seattle Sea Dragons
2023 Ben DiNucci (10)Ben DiNucci (1)

San Antonio Brahmas

Season(s)Regular season
2023 Jack Coan (7) / Reid Sinnett (1) / Jawon Pass (1) / Kurt Benkert (1)

Vegas Vipers

Season(s)Regular season
Tampa Bay Vipers
2020 Taylor Cornelius (4) / Aaron Murray (1)
Vegas Vipers
2023 Luis Perez (4) / Jalan McClendon (4) / Brett Hundley (2)

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In American football, the starting quarterback is typically viewed as the leader of a team. The quarterback is considered the most important position on the field and among the most important positions in team sports. They are among the most high-profile athletes in North America and have been described as akin to A-list celebrities; in the United Football League, such quarterbacks benefit from national television exposure and in-game action that they may not get as backup or practice squad quarterbacks in the National Football League; former New York Guardians starter Matt McGloin, former Dallas Renegades starting quarterback Landry Jones and current St. Louis Battlehawks quarterback AJ McCarron all cited the ability to have their friends and family see them play professional football as reasons why they chose to play in the league. The success of an American football team often rests on the quarterback; thus, teams will go to great lengths to find a franchise quarterback to build around for the long-term goals of the team. This page contains the lists of starting quarterbacks for the eight teams that played in the XFL, a league that operated for 1½ seasons as a standalone league in 2020 and 2023. This page also contains the lists of starting quarterbacks for the nine teams that played in the United States Football League (USFL), a league that operated for 2 seasons as a standalone league in 2022 and 2023. Four teams from each league now constitute the XFL and USFL conferences respectively of the UFL.

References

  1. ↑ Wertheim, Jon; Sommers, Sam (February 3, 2016). "Ranking starting quarterbacks by perceived leadership". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved December 11, 2016.
  2. ↑ "Steve Young: Quarterback is the most important position in football". Los Angeles Times. January 28, 2012. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
  3. ↑ Brooks, Bucky (July 27, 2015). "Ranking each position's importance, from quarterback to returner". NFL.com. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
  4. ↑ La Canfora, Jason (June 7, 2016). "Here are the 7 tiers of NFL quarterbacks and where all 32 starters fit in". CBS Sports. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
  5. ↑ Chavkin, Daniel (February 24, 2023). "AJ McCarron After Back-to-Back XFL Comeback Wins: 'This Is Special'". Sports Illustrated . Retrieved February 24, 2023.
  6. ↑ "Matt McGloin reflects on his time in XFL, as league folds". April 11, 2020.
  7. ↑ Meyer, Brendan (February 6, 2020). "Landry Jones is the face of the XFL. Does he want to be?". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
  8. ↑ Manza-Young, Shalise (October 11, 2019). XFL quarterbacks will make 10 times the salary of their teammates. Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved October 13, 2019.
  9. ↑ Seifert, Kevin (November 22, 2019). "Veteran backup Josh Johnson among three QBs signed by XFL". ESPN. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
  10. ↑ "XFL draft: What we learned about the Tampa Bay Vipers". Tampa Bay Times.
  11. ↑ Mosqueda, Justis (2023-02-06). "Former Packers QB Brett Hundley set to be XFL's highest-paid player". Acme Packing Company. Retrieved 2024-03-15.
  12. ↑ Mitchell, Mike (2024-01-05). "D.C. Defenders: Jordan Ta'amu Fate, Changes, Dispersal Draft Options". Sports Illustrated UFL on FanNation News, Analysis and More. Retrieved 2024-03-15.
  13. ↑ Seifert, Kevin (2024-02-24). "Welcome to the UFL! Laying out the new(ish) league heading into the 2024 season". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2024-02-28.
  14. ↑ Miller, Anthony (January 31, 2024). "AJ McCarron Unsure About Playing for UFL, St. Louis Battlehawks". Sports Illustrated UFL on FanNation News, Analysis and More. Retrieved February 3, 2024.
  15. ↑ https://twitter.com/TheUFLPA/status/1752763400675790963
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