The COVID-19 pandemic forced the XFL to cut its 2020 debut season short, but the upstart football league committed to giving players their base pay and benefits regardless. Houston Roughnecks linebacker Brian Peters is repaying the gesture by contributing half that money to charitable causes.
Truly a blessing for the XFL @xfl2020 & @XFLRoughnecks to honor our contracts. In an effort to give back I’ll be donating 1/2 my pay each week to support front line medical staff, food banks, & Coronavirus services #GiveBack #HelpAndSupportAreNotYoursToKeep #PeopleHelpingPeople pic.twitter.com/MLSKM07mRG
— Brian Peters (@brian_peters10) March 29, 2020
The first of Peters’ donations went to Frontline Responders Fund, which aims to provide supplies such as masks to medical professionals around the world. As of publication, more than 14,000 donors have contributed over $4,000,000 overall to the cause.
Peters starred at Northwestern University from 2008-11, where he earned All-Big Ten second-team honors as a junior and first-team honors as a senior. Despite his collegiate accolades, Peters went undrafted in 2012, then played one season in the Arena Football League and three in the Canadian Football League.
The Minnesota Vikings signed Peters in 2015, but the Houston Texans plucked him off their practice squad that September. Peters developed into a valuable special teamer for the Texans, recording 54 tackles over 51 games from 2015-18. In 2018, though, Houston cut Peters after he sustained a season-ending injury.
Peters’ professional career continued in Houston with the Roughnecks this season, and his team rolled to a 5-0 start before play was canceled. They had only five games regular-season games remaining until the playoffs.
The Northwestern alum’s football career is on hold, but his charitable contributions remain flowing. Peters’ Twitter bio reads “help and support are not yours to keep” and he’s living by that motto.