James Wilder Jr. went to the CFL to keep his NFL dream alive. He was a huge hit as the league’s rookie of the year on the Grey Cup-winning Toronto Argonauts, but now he’s prepared to sit out the entire 2018 CFL season.
Wilder Jr. released a statement to Three Down Nation announcing his intentions, and it provided some interesting details about the life of someone trying to make it as a professional football player outside the CFL. There are multiple factors in play.
One, Wilder has received interest from NFL teams after his star turn with the Argos in 2017. He wants to engage those teams to secure a contract or at least a training camp invitation, but Wilder signed a two-year contract to join the CFL, which is a league-mandated minimum commitment. Wilder doesn’t want to risk an injury that could jeopardize that NFL chance.
He’s also a 25-year-old running back, so keeping as much proverbial tread on his tires matters. Wilder sustained a concussion playing for the Argos and played through other minor injuries.
“It was a wake-up call after I got a concussion this year and played through injuries,” Wilder told Three Down Nation. “If an injury was to happen here it’s just ‘thank you for the time you put in here’ and they send you home. I don’t want to be part of that statistic. I was very blessed to make it through a season, but now I don’t have any CFL finances. My friends wanted me to come train with them but I can’t afford to go train. I can’t put my body at risk, leave a country and family behind for a job when I could work here for the same money and not risk my body at all. Then not take the chance of injury and enter the NFL next year.”
Two, Wilder said he cannot properly support his family on his CFL salary after making $56,000 last season. His family, which includes four children, still lives in the United States. As Wilder noted in a Q&A with Three Down Nation, he has to file taxes in Canada that drop that number to $34,000 before the exchange rate (less than $28,000 in U.S. money).
To help out with this, Wilder is currently living in Dallas and clocking 60 hours per week as a construction worker. He’s training at a local YMCA.
“It’s hard because like you said it’s physical so it zaps your energy,” Wilder said. “We’ve had a cold snap in Texas so you work 10 hours in that weather, get home and your family hasn’t seen you all day. I still have to get my hour of training so I shoot out to the YMCA because they watch the kids as you train. No trainer, just on my own because that’s the only choice that I have. If I had more money, I’d love to still be in Toronto training with the teammates. But I’m not paid enough to do that.
“I’ve talked to so many American players across the league that feel the same way I do but are afraid to speak up. I know I’m going to get backlash from fans: ‘you signed up to do this.’ But nothing comes before my family and this puts my family in the best position and most people will understand that.”
Wilder, whose dad ran for more than 6,000 yards and 75 touchdowns in the NFL, was a five-star prospect in high school. He won a national championship at Florida State in a crowded backfield that included Devonta Freeman and Karlos Williams. He spent two years on the Bengals practice squad and a third training camp with the Bills, but has never played in an NFL game.
His work in the CFL — 1,405 yards from scrimmage, including 51 catches in 17 games — could get him one more chance to prove he can play at the NFL level. He’s decided he’s not going to risk that right now, and is willing to give up a year playing in the CFL to do so.