Former Boise State star Jay Ajayi collects career payday months after retiring from NFL
Former Boise State running back Jay Ajayi might have just collected a bigger payday than he did at any point during his four-year NFL career.
Ajayi officially retired from the NFL as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles in January. A torn ACL, suffered four games into the 2018 season, basically derailed his career, but the 28-year-old was in the final year of his rookie contract at the time and he purchased a loss-of-value insurance policy.
Ajayi collected a settlement from the policy on Tuesday. How much he was paid is unclear, but the maximum payout on the policy was $5 million, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. Ajayi made about $3.9 million during his NFL career, according to overthecap.com.
After setting Boise State’s single-season rushing record with 1,823 yards in 2014, Ajayi was picked by the Miami Dolphins in the fifth round of the 2015 NFL Draft. He was traded to the Eagles during the 2017 season, and the native of London, England, went on to help Philadelphia win Super Bowl LII.
His knee injury cost him most of the 2018 season, and Ajayi appeared in only three games in 2019 before he was released. He finished his NFL career with 2,546 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns.
Ajayi earned first-team All-Mountain West honors at Boise State in 2013 and 2014, and he was named an All-American by multiple outlets in 2014. He posted 3,796 rushing yards, 771 receiving yards and 55 touchdowns in three seasons with the Broncos.
