Honestly, the story sounds like a bad movie script. You’ve probably heard it by now: a guy is sitting on his couch, watches a kicker miss a field goal, and his wife looks at him and says, "You could do that." Most of us would laugh, grab another wing, and go back to our 9-to-5s. But for Brandon Aubrey, that casual comment actually ended a career in tech and started one of the most absurd runs in NFL history.
Before he was the guy hitting 60-yarders with ice in his veins for the Dallas Cowboys, he was just another guy in a cubicle. Specifically, he was a Brandon Aubrey software engineer for GM Financial. No pads, no helmets, just Jira tickets and code reviews.
The Cubicle Before the Cowboys
Most people realize he played soccer at Notre Dame. He was a first-round MLS draft pick, too. But when the soccer dream fizzled out after a couple of years with Toronto FC and Bethlehem Steel, Aubrey didn't mope. He leaned on that computer science degree. He moved back home to the Dallas-Fort Worth area and got a "real job."
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He spent years working as a software engineer. He wasn't just "fiddling with computers" either. He was a full-blown developer.
- Company: GM Financial
- Location: Fort Worth, Texas
- Role: Software Engineer
- Specialty: Enterprise-level applications and internal systems
It’s wild to think about. While NFL scouts were looking for the next big leg in the 2019 and 2020 drafts, Aubrey was probably debating whether to use a for loop or a forEach. He was living the life of a standard millennial professional. He was married, stable, and honestly, probably thought his days of playing sports for money were dead and buried.
Brandon Aubrey Software Engineer: What He Actually Did
You won't find many "Day in the Life" vlogs of Aubrey as a dev, but we know he wasn't just a hobbyist. At Notre Dame, he didn't pick an easy major. Computer science is a grind. He even mentioned in an interview that his favorite class involved rebuilding a Pokémon game from scratch.
That analytical mindset is exactly what makes him a terrifyingly good kicker. Software engineering is about repeatability. It’s about finding a bug, fixing the logic, and ensuring the output is the same every single time. Kicking a football is basically a physical algorithm.
When he was working at GM Financial, he wasn't just waiting for a call from the NFL. He was committed. He was there for about two years. That is a lifetime in the tech world. He was likely working with C#, SQL, or Java—the standard enterprise stack—making a very comfortable living.
The 50% Pay Cut That Changed Everything
When the USFL came calling in 2022, Aubrey had a choice. Stay in the air-conditioned office with a 401(k) and a steady paycheck, or quit to join the Birmingham Stallions.
He took a 50% pay cut to play in the USFL.
That is the part people miss. It wasn't a "nothing to lose" situation. He had a lot to lose. He was a successful Brandon Aubrey software engineer with a career trajectory that most people would kill for. To walk away from that to kick a ball for a league that many people thought wouldn't last a season? That's not just confidence. That's a calculated risk.
He spent three days a week training with a kicking coach, Brian Egan, while still working his tech job. Imagine finishing a sprint planning meeting at 5:00 PM and then heading to a local park to try and figure out the trajectory of a pigskin.
Why Tech Professionals Love This Story
There is something deeply satisfying about a "regular guy" making it. But Aubrey isn't exactly regular. He’s a 6'3" athlete who happens to be smart enough to build your next mobile app.
The transition from software to the NFL required a specific kind of mental discipline. In engineering, you have to stay calm when the server goes down. In the NFL, you have to stay calm when 80,000 people are screaming and a 300-pound lineman is trying to block your view of the uprights.
The Career Path Timeline
- 2017-2018: Professional Soccer (MLS/USL).
- 2019-2022: Full-time Software Engineer at GM Financial.
- 2022-2023: Kicker for the Birmingham Stallions (USFL).
- 2023-Present: Pro Bowl Kicker for the Dallas Cowboys.
What You Can Learn From the "Coder Kicker"
Aubrey’s journey isn't just a sports trivia fact. It’s a blueprint for career pivots. He didn't just quit his job and hope for the best. He spent two years training in the shadows while maintaining his "day job" as an engineer.
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He didn't let his identity be defined by his degree or his current job title. If he had, he’d still be sitting in an office in Fort Worth right now. Instead, he treated his kicking career like a side project that eventually scaled.
Actionable Takeaways for Your Career:
- Don't ignore the "silly" ideas: If someone you trust (like Aubrey's wife) says you're good at something, give it a real look.
- Build a safety net: His software degree allowed him to take the risk. If the USFL failed, he could have been back at a desk within a month.
- Iterate constantly: Aubrey didn't just show up and kick. He worked for years to change his soccer swing into a football strike.
If you're currently staring at a monitor wondering if there's more to life than the terminal, remember Brandon Aubrey. He’s proof that your "previous life" as a software engineer might just be the foundation for something completely different.
The next time you see him line up for a 65-yarder, just remember: that guy used to worry about merge conflicts. Now, he's the most reliable leg in the world.
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Next Steps for You:
Look at your current skill set. Is there a "side project" you’ve been ignoring because it doesn't fit your professional label? Map out a 6-month plan to train for it without quitting your day job. Use your current stability to fund your future pivot.