There doesn’t tend to be a lot of overlap between football and soccer fanbase. Even though soccer is the 4th most popular sport in the USA (even ahead of ice hockey, a quintessentially American sport), it doesn’t really exist in the American public consciousness the same way football does. Imagine the journey Brandon Aubrey must’ve gone through to get to where he is today.

From kicking a soccer ball to a pigskin, the former MLS player turned Cowboys placekicker is living proof the skills are transferrable. But is he earning his due now? How much are the Dallas Cowboys paying out for this first rate placekicker?

How much does Brandon Aubrey make?

The Dallas Cowboys are known for a lot of things. Perhaps one of the most entertaining though, is current owner/GM Jerry Jones’ sometimes bafflingly random decisions. He made the news for withholding Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb’s salary increases when they were clearly his team’s heart. So how much does he pay for a 28-year-old rookie coming in to join his special team? Well, signed to a $2,695,000 contract, Aubrey is going to be paid $915,000 this year.

That makes him one of the lowest paid kickers in the NFL this season. He is the lowest paid placekicker, not on a 1-year contract. And with the way he’s been performing, the Cowboys got a real sweet deal. But still, it’s more than he was making playing soccer. We don’t really seem to have solid figures on the value of his contracts in the MLS. However, some articles report his earnings in 2017, when he was drafted by Toronto FC II, between $65-75,000.

Now obviously that’s dwarfed by his NFL salary. Even his post MLS day job as a software development engineer from 2019 to 23 would’ve likely paid more. The annual salary cap for a senior player in the MLS as of 2024 is actually just $683,750. Again, a figure dwarfed already by his “small” salary. Aubrey doesn’t seem to be involved in any major endorsements, but the way things are going, it’s a matter of time. On a humorous side-note, he had another minor stream of income this October, when he got called up for jury duty. In the state of Texas, jurors are reimbursed $50 a day for their time, and the trial he was involved in apparently ran for “about a week.”

How long is Brandon Aubrey’s contract?

Well, there’s not much to say here. Aubrey signed a 3-year contract with the Cowboys in 2023. You can do the math on that. It ends next year, in 2025. But why would the Cowboys ever let him go when he’s been nothing short of spectacular for them? The Cowboys don’t even have a backup kicker signed, plus they released kicker Tristan Vizcaino from their practice squad last year.

With how firmly Aubrey’s made his mark with the Cowboys, he should hope for a better contract post-2025. The highest paid kicker in the league, the Chiefs’ odious Harrison Butker, makes $6,400,000 a year, and while that’s a bit optimistic, Aubrey can expect something well into the 7 figures. He picked Athletes First for his representation last year. They represent players like Aaron Rodgers, who’s locked in at $37,500,000 a year on average with the Jets, so they’ll be sure to negotiate a killer contract for Aubrey.

Stories of rebirth like Brandon Aubrey’s can inspire greater interest in the NFL. If you’d like to know more about the NFL’s global growth, be sure to check out our latest Think Tank Exclusice, featuring Erin and Emily Griffin.