No longer in finance, John Wolford may delete LinkedIn if first NFL start goes well
John Wolford didn’t necessarily have NFL aspirations early in his college career at Wake Forest. As a quarterback who was under 6 feet tall and lacking a big arm, his prospects of going pro weren’t great.
He was in pursuit of a career in finance while simultaneously leading the Demon Deacons at quarterback, with the former being his likelier path to a stable job. Like every other college kid looking for job opportunities post-graduation, he used LinkedIn as a tool. But with his first NFL start coming up on Sunday, Wolford doesn’t have much use for his profile anymore.
If things go well against the Cardinals this weekend, he might just delete his profile.
“I guess when I was a junior in college, I was like, ‘I probably need to make this,’” he told Rams reporters Wednesday. “They actually probably advised us to make it. I probably made it when I was a freshman. I just never figured to deactivate it. If this Sunday goes well maybe, I’ll just delete it.”
Wolford said he doesn’t “go on LinkedIn that much anymore,” which is expected considering he’s been a backup quarterback for an NFL team. Finance isn’t on his mind much anymore, with helping the Rams taking priority in his life.
He’s not far removed from working in the business world, though. After he was cut by the Jets in 2018, and before he landed with the Arizona Hotshots in the AAF, Wolford worked as a private equity analyst for Teall Capital.
Making a name for himself in the AAF changed everything, though, and earned him an opportunity with the Rams. But if that hadn’t worked out, he was prepared to pursue a career in finance, potentially on Wall Street.
“I had a job lined up my junior year, going into my senior year. That recruiting process starts pretty early,” Wolford said. “Up until my junior year, I had not played well enough where the NFL seemed like a viable option. So, I was set on doing that. Then I had a great senior season and I talked to some scouts, talked to my family and it made sense. You can only go and play football once. I can go back and work a desk job later on in life. So, I told myself, ‘I’m going to give it a year. I’m going to give everything I got.’ And it’s all worked out. I’ve had some good breaks. I realized there’s a lot that goes into it, but I’m just grateful that I’m here and trying to take advantage of this next opportunity,”
Wolford still has a long way to go before he’s given a chance to be an NFL starter, having never taken a regular-season snap in the league. But Sunday’s game against the Cardinals could be his first big break as a pro quarterback – which might be just what he needs to sign out of LinkedIn once and for all.
