What is C. J. Stroud’s Net Worth and Salary?
C. J. Stroud is an American professional football quarterback who has a net worth of $12 million. C.J. Stroud plays for the NFL’s Houston Texans. In his first season with the team in 2023, he set multiple rookie and playoff records as the Texans finished first in the AFC South and claimed their first playoff victory in five years. Previously, Stroud was a star college football player with the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Contract and Salary
In July 2023 C. J. Stroud signed a 4-year, $36 million contract that came with a $23 million signing bonus.
Early Life and High School
Coleridge Bernard Stroud IV was born on October 3, 2001 in Rancho Cucamonga, California as the youngest of four children of Kimberly and Coleridge III. In 2016, his father was sentenced to 38 years-to-life in prison after pleading guilty to kidnapping, carjacking, and robbery in connection to a drug-related incident. The incarceration sent the family into serious financial debt. Meanwhile, Stroud attended Rancho Cucamonga High School, where he was a star football player. In his senior year, he passed for 3,878 yards and 47 touchdowns.
Collegiate Career
For college, Stroud attended the Ohio State University and played for the Buckeyes football team. After redshirting in his true freshman year in 2020, he was named the starting quarterback in the 2021 season. Stroud broke out in a big way that season, earning six Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors before being named the Big Ten quarterback of the year. Moreover, he led the Buckeyes to a 10-2 record en route to a Rose Bowl title. Stroud set both Rose Bowl and school records for passing yards in a single game, with 573.
Coming off of his incredible 2021 season, Stroud was considered one of the best college football players in the nation. He continued his success in 2022, throwing six touchdown passes against Michigan State in October to move up to second place on Ohio State’s list of players with the most career passing touchdowns. However, the Buckeyes ended their season with a narrow loss to the Georgia Bulldogs in the Peach Bowl semifinal. In early 2023, Stroud announced that he was forgoing his remaining two years of college eligibility to enter the NFL Draft.
(Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
Houston Texans
In the 2023 NFL Draft, Stroud was chosen by the Houston Texans with the second overall pick. This made him the highest-drafted quarterback in the history of the Ohio State University. Stroud made his NFL debut in Week 1 against the Baltimore Ravens, throwing for 242 yards in a 25-9 loss. He went on to throw his first two NFL touchdowns in the Texans’ Week 2 loss to the Indianapolis Colts. In that game, Stroud recorded 384 passing yards, the second-most in a single game by a Texans rookie quarterback. In Week 3, he passed for 280 yards and two touchdowns as the Texans defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars. For September, Stroud was named Offensive Rookie of the Month. He continued to have an exceptional rookie year, breaking the single-game passing-yard record for a rookie quarterback when he passed for 470 yards in Week 9. However, he was taken out of play in Week 14 after suffering a concussion in a loss to the New York Jets. Stroud returned in Week 17 in the Texans’ 26-3 win over the Tennessee Titans.
In the Texans’ final game of the 2023 regular season, against the Colts, Stroud passed for 264 yards and two touchdowns to help his team clinch its first division title and playoff berth in five years. During the game, he became the fifth quarterback in NFL history to pass for more than 4,000 yards in their rookie season. Stroud ended the regular season with Texans franchise records for most passing yards in a rookie season, with 4,108, and most passing touchdowns in a rookie season, with 23. He achieved more records in the postseason, tying the rookie record for most passing touchdowns in a playoff game by recording three in the Wild Card Round against the Cleveland Browns. With the Texans beating the Browns 45-14, Stroud became the youngest quarterback to win a playoff game in league history, at the age of 22. In the subsequent Divisional Round, however, he passed for only 175 yards as the Texans fell to the top-seeded Baltimore Ravens.
