Dolphins’ Darrell Baker Jr. Reveals How He Only Made $5,500 per Week on NFL Practice Squad

Dolphins cornerback Darrell Baker Jr. explained that the life of a practice squad player on an NFL team is not as glamorous as most people are led to believe.

Dolphins’ Darrell Baker Jr. Reveals How He Only Made $5,500 per Week on NFL Practice Squad

Tom Brady and Darrell Baker Jr. inside the circle (Image via IMAGO/X)

Days after Tom Brady’s statement on practice squad players created a buzz on the internet, the Miami Dolphins’ cornerback Darrell Baker Jr. took to X to explain the lives of NFL players who survive on meager income from their contracts. Baker tried his best to dispel the long-standing myth that athletes in his position are rich like the starters.

First year, my base salary was about $150K. Coming in as a rookie, thinking I am about to make $150K this year, and I got hit with reality. I didn’t make the 53 [roster] coming out of camp, so I was on [the] practice squad. When you’re on [practice squad], you don’t make the base salary of whatever is on your contract. You get that minimum of what is set for the league.

Darrell Baker Jr. said

At that time, the league minimum was roughly $211k for practice squad members. On paper, that’s a lot of money for one individual. Then again, an athlete’s life on the PS is very uncertain. They are some of the best football players in the country, but not good enough to play regularly on the first team. They stand on the fringes of uncertainty. One week, they could be intercepting a couple of passes, and the next, they give away touchdowns and get cut from the team.

Through all this, he has to take care of his family, maintain his physique, pay for travel, and taxes to the state (sometimes more, depending on the state he’s playing in).

You don’t really know if you’re gonna be with that team the whole year, so you could easily be released with that, you have to pay moving costs. You might have to break a lease, which is usually about two months of rent upfront for my first paycheck, and they took about 55% of my first check. And on practice squad, man, I was making about $5,500 every week during the regular season, and it’s still great money, but we’re definitely not rich.

Baker said

While Baker avoided addressing it in his monologue, practice-squad players aspire to start regularly for their team rather than wasting their prime years on the bench, a theory presented by retired NFL quarterback Tom Brady.

What I realized was [that] a lot of guys on those practice squads, they don’t want to be elevated to the roster. They’re very happy living this life where they could tell their family and friends, which I have no problem with that. But the reality is a lot of guys don’t want the pressure of dealing with top.

Brady said
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A summary of Darrell Baker Jr.’s football career

Baker hails from Panama City, in Panama, to two US Army veterans. After graduating from high school in Georgia, he committed to play for the Georgia Southern University football team.

Dolphins' Darrell Baker Jr. Reveals How He Only Made $5,500 per Week on NFL Practice Squad
Darrell Baker Jr. (Image via Sports Illustrated)

Baker spent six years with the Eagles (2016-2021). He went undrafted in 2022 and signed a free agent contract with the Indianapolis Colts. Three games during his rookie season followed 14 in his second year. However, the Colts waived him ahead of the 2024 season.

The Tennessee Titans signed Baker. He played 34 games in the following two seasons, racked up 95 tackles, and defended 12 passes. In March 2026, Baker signed a one-year contract with the Dolphins.

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