Until team pays, Francis picks up some cash as Uber driver

DAVIE, Fla. – Word on the street is Miami Dolphins reserve defensive tackle A.J. Francis has good acceleration, an excellent motor and a high ceiling in his 2014 Dodge Charger.

He’s an Uber driver.

Francis is under contract to earn $510,000 this year in his third NFL season, but paychecks don’t start coming until July, and it’s uncertain he’ll make the team. He wanted some extra spending money, so in April he became a driver for hire with Uber, making $40 to $50 an hour.

“I’m not putting all my eggs in one basket,” Francis said. “Where I’m from, when you have a job, where are you when that job is over?”

Team officials have voiced no objection regarding Francis’ moonlighting.

“Yeah, I was kidding him about Uber or Yuber or whatever you call it,” defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle said. “It’s a little outside the box, but so is he.”

The outgoing Francis said the job suits him because he enjoys meeting people. He hopes to pursue a broadcasting career after football, so he polishes his interviewing skills by videotaping conversations with passengers, and posts them on YouTube.

“He’s a talker,” said his wife, Tatiana, who married Francis in March. “He’ll talk your ear off about anything.”

Francis recently finished his third semester studying for a master’s degree in international security and economic policy, and he sounds like an economist talking about Uber’s impact.

“Everywhere Uber is, it thrives,” he said. “The resistance comes from taxi drivers who don’t want to get beat out, because they know they can’t compete. Which is funny to me, because in no other aspect of American culture are you allowed to stifle capitalism.”

Because of his studies and the Dolphins’ offseason training schedule, the flexibility Uber offered was appealing to Francis. He tries to work at least three days a week, in shifts of four to five hours. He said he’ll stop driving for pay once training camp starts.

NFL veterans who worked in the offseason were common a few decades ago, but in an era when even bottom-of-the-roster players make half a million dollars a year, Francis is a throwback.

No Uber rider has recognized the 6-foot-5, 330-pound Francis as a professional football player, which doesn’t surprise him.

“People just think I’m some big dude in a nice car,” he said.