Arian Foster Earned Nearly $40 Million in the NFL — Then Became a Rapper
One mistake could have cost Arian Foster everything he earned later.
Foster didn’t have legal problems or anything to that degree. Although he had an opportunity to leave school early, Foster returned to Tennessee and went undrafted.
In the end, the move paid off. Foster teamed up with Matt Schaub and turned the Houston Texans into one of the AFC’s most dangerous teams in the early 2010s.
A full decade after he burst out onto the scene, where is Arian Foster now?
Arian Foster was an elite running back when healthy
A three-year starter at the University of Tennessee, Arian Foster could have been a second-round pick if he entered the 2008 NFL draft.
Volunteers coach Phillip Fulmer persuaded Foster to return, then took away his starting job and moved him into a rotation with other running backs. The decreased production, coupled with an injury that kept Foster from fully competing at the NFL combine, forced him to go undrafted.
That worked out well for the Houston Texans, who signed him after the draft and promoted him to the active roster in November. Foster impressed and ran for 257 yards and three touchdowns on 4.8 yards per carry.
Few, if anyone, predicted what would come next. Foster broke out on opening day 2010 and totaled 231 rushing yards and three touchdowns in a 34-24 victory over Robert Mathis and the Colts’ defense.
Foster finished his second season with NFL-highs in rushing yards (1,616) and touchdowns (16) on 4.9 yards per attempt. He added 604 receiving yards and two touchdowns on 66 catches en route to First-team All-Pro honors.
Foster cashed in despite going undrafted
From 2010-12, Arian Foster made the Pro Bowl every year and ran for 4,264 yards and 41 touchdowns on 4.5 yards per carry. Foster also caught 159 passes for 1,438 yards and six touchdowns.
Back issues limited Foster to one touchdown in eight games in 2013, though he returned to total 1,246 rushing yards, eight touchdowns, and average nearly five yards a carry in 2014.
That was Foster’s last successful run, so to speak, as he played just eight games for the Texans and Miami Dolphins through the 2016 season. Foster retired midway through the 2016 season, his lone year in Miami.
Foster signed a five-year extension worth up to $43.5 million with the Texans before the 2012 season opened. Just three years after he went undrafted, Foster received $20.75 million in guaranteed money.
According to Spotrac, Foster earned $37.7 million in his career. Entering the 2020 season, that is the 23rd-highest total of any running back. Falcons running back Todd Gurley is just ahead of him at $38.4 million.
Arian Foster is now a rapper
Plenty of athletes, including Portland Trail Blazers star guard Damian Lillard, test their rapping skills on the mic during their playing days. Arian Foster joined that club after he retired.
Under the name Bobby Feeno, Foster released his debut album, Flamingo & Koval, in April 2018. The album was released under LeBron James’ record label, Uninterrupted.
Foster also acted in Draft Day, the 2014 movie about a fictional Cleveland Browns team preparing for the draft. Foster also hosted a podcast, Now What? from 2017-19.
Arian Foster’s NFL career didn’t begin or end the way he may have liked to. But he certainly found a way to make the most of his career and remain productive when it ended.
All contract figures courtesy of Spotrac.
