AJ McCarron has become the face of the relaunched XFL after a stellar college career at Alabama and a stint in the NFL. He has made his presence known, leading the Saint Louis Battlehawks to a 2-0 record, both games being come-from-behind wins. In his two postgame interviews, he shed some light on his process in coming to this league. He pointed to wanting to “create memories” for his three young boys.

In his latest interview, he stated “I (McCarron) probably could’ve tried to come back with an NFL team and had a chance to probably make bigger money, but no one knows what the future holds. I’m enjoying this, and it’s a great way to create some memories for me and my boys.” He cited his boys’ enthusiasm for watching him play as the main factor for going to the XFL. “My 6-year-old loves watching tape of me on YouTube. That’s a big reason I chose to return this way.”

He said that even though being a backup in the NFL is a “dream job” and he would be getting paid more, he wanted to create a legacy for his children to see and opportunity for them to watch him for the first time in their lives. Co-Owner of the XFL, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson took to Twitter to respond saying, “Takes less money signing with us over the NFL because he wanted his little boys to see him play,” “Now he’s 2-0 and led his team to back-to-back exciting last-minute wins. I’d say he’s creating some memories for his boys. AJ’s decision means a helluva lot to me, personally.” You can see how much it meant to Johnson and the league that McCarron made the decision and hopefully McCarron will be able to make even more memories for his boys in the XFL.