Rare Footage of Brock Lesnar Answering Why He Left Over $40 Million Salary from WWE for a Mere 6-figure Paying NFL Career

WWE’s plans for Brock Lesnar were washed out when The Beast Incarnate decided to leave the company. It was a shock for many WWE officials at the time because Lesnar was minting money for Vince McMahon’s empire.

After leaving WWE, The Conqueror wanted to pursue a football career. Hence, in July 2004, he signed with the NFL team Minnesota Vikings, and started training with the team.

After Brock Lesnar signed with Minnesota Vikings, he gave an interview in which he revealed the reason for pursuing a football career.

Lesnar said, “I didn’t wanna wake up when I was fifty years older or ten years from now kicking myself in the butt saying, ‘Man I wish I’d at least grasped onto the opportunity. You don’t get many opportunities in life and when you do get them, you should grab onto them. So I just thought well if somebody will give me the opportunity.”

The hectic WWE schedule had frustrated The Beast Incarnate and wanted to leave as soon as possible. Even though WWE offered Lesnar a $45 million contract, he refused to pursue a football career. Moreover, he had signed a $230,000 contract with the Minnesota Vikings.

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The former WWE Champion played football in high school before moving to amateur wrestling. Therefore, Lesnar knew the basics of the game and just had to polish his skills on the field.

Lesnar’s last match of the first stint in 2004 was against Goldberg at WrestleMania 20. The match received a lot of criticism as the news of Lesnar and Goldberg leaving after WrestleMania had upset the fans.

Brock Lesnar shared why was he confident about a football career

The former UFC Heavyweight Champion signed with the Minnesota Vikings in July 2004. He was confident to make it in football as he had previously overcome all odds since his high school days.

The former Universal Champion said, “And I’ve been a longshot all my life. I went to high school, I was never a state champion, (and) I never got recruited out of high school for wrestling. I end up with NCAA Champion, I go into the WWE and people say I don’t have any mic skills, I don’t have the charisma, I don’t have what it takes.”

He added, “And here I become the youngest WWE Champion in the history, not only (once) but the three-time. Now I’m taking this other road and to see if I can make my mark as a football player.”

However, Lensar’s football career never went the way he wanted. The Beast played some of the pre-season games, but because of an accident, the Vikings cut off Lesnar from the team. Thus, Brock Lesnar was released in August 2004, two months after he had signed with the Vikings. Despite everything that happened, Lesnar excelled on more battlefields such as UFC and then WWE again, where he still carries on with his eventful run. 

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