You could argue that no athlete has been thrown to the wolves quite like American football quarterback David Carr.
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As time goes on, NFL analysts seem to feel more and more that success of an NFL quarterback is dictated as much by the situation as talent. Needless to say, Carr found himself in a difficult situation when he entered the National Football League.
Of course, he was paid handsomely along the way, as he began his NFL career before the league implemented the new rookie wage scale.
Many consider Carr one of the biggest draft busts ever, but how much of a dent did that put into his net worth?
Early Life & Infamous NFL Career
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Former NFL player David Duke Carr was a Central California boy through and through. He grew up in Bakersfield, where he attended Stockdale High School. After high school, the oldest son of Rodger Carr and Sheryl Carr decided to play college football at Fresno State University. It took a little while to become the starting quarterback.
After seeing minimal action for the Bulldogs in 1997 and 1998, Carr redshirted the 1999 season. He finally became the starting quarterback in 2000, but it was all about the 2001 campaign for Carr.
That year, he led Fresno State to wins over BCS schools Wisconsin, Colorado, and Oregon State. Carr threw for 4,839 yards with a whopping 46 touchdowns and a mere nine interceptions.
This performance won Carr the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award and got him into the top five in the Heisman Trophy voting.
Suddenly, the American football player was a top NFL Draft prospect. The 2002 NFL Draft was notable as it was the first season for the Houston Texans. As an expansion team, the NFL gifted the Texans with the first-overall pick.
While Oregon's Joey Harrington was also considered a top pick, the Texans ultimately took Carr first and threw him right into the fire. The Texans beat the Dallas Cowboys in their inaugural game, but it was tough sledding for Carr after that.
#8 - David Carr throws TD pass to Billy Miller for first ever touchdown in Texans franchise history, vs. Cowboys (Week 1, 2002) pic.twitter.com/IRN47zySdJ
— BEST IN THE WORLD (@Mondattah) July 1, 2018
Playing on an expansion team was detrimental to the health, and development, of Carr. Opponents sacked the quarterback a staggering 76 times. That remains an NFL record. He also fumbled a whopping 21 times and threw more interceptions than touchdowns.
In fact, in Carr's five seasons with the Houston Texans, he only threw more touchdowns than picks twice and never threw more than 16 touchdowns in a season. The sacks continued as well, but never got as bad as that rookie season again.
After his rookie contract expired, the Texans decided to move on from Carr. He signed as a free agent with the Carolina Panthers to back up Jake Delhomme, but Carr got to see some action when Carolina's primary passer went down. He made four starts in 2007, but they would be the final starts of his NFL career.
After one season in Carolina, Carr moved on to the New York Giants, where he backed up Eli Manning. He spent two seasons there before spending one season with the San Francisco 49ers.
Carr returned to the Giants, where he did not see a single snap of action in 2011. And yet, this might be the most pleasant season Carr had in his career. That season culminated with the Giants beating the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI.
As the backup quarterback, Carr was a Super Bowl champion. That's right, one of the biggest busts in NFL history has a Super Bowl ring to his name.
The Giants brought Carr back for one more season, but Carr retired after 2012.
David Carr Net Worth
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A few years after retiring, Carr joined the NFL Network as an analyst. He's also helped out his family quite a bit.
Carr spent time as the offensive coordinator at Bakersfield Christian High School, where his younger brother Darren Carr was the head coach.
Then, of course, there's Derek Carr. Derek followed his older brother's footsteps to Fresno State. Some were concerned about Derek's draft stock because his brother did not work out as an NFL quarterback. That didn't stop the Oakland Raiders — now the Las Vegas Raiders — from taking the younger Carr brother in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft.
The Raiders have provided Derek with more support than David got in Houston, and Derek has made three Pro Bowls.
David Carr has also been a family man for quite some time. He married his high school girlfriend Melody Tipton, now Melody Carr, back in 1999. They have six children together, and Carr has revealed that three of them have Type 1 Diabetes, which Carr himself also suffers from.
It was not the NFL career that David Carr, or the Houston Texans, envisioned, but being an NFL quarterback has its benefits. According to Celebrity Net Worth, David Carr's net worth is $19 million.
That record number of sacks as a rookie may have forever altered his NFL career, and he was a bust, but at least he made plenty of cash to support his family.
