Arian Foster says he accepted cash at Tennessee, backtracks on Twitter

Running back Arian Foster on Thursday estimated that he was paid "40, 50 grand" during his career at Tennessee.

Running back Arian Foster on Thursday estimated that he was paid "40, 50 grand" during his career at Tennessee.

In an interview on the Dan Le Batard show, Foster recounted how he and his wife, Romina, met when an agent tried to court them.

Foster said that Romina was singing in a girl's group and that the agent tried to "wine us and dine us," which was "definitely illegal" by NCAA standards.

Le Batard then pressed Foster to provide a guess on the amount of cash he received while a member of the Volunteers.

“You have people help you out here and there, man” Foster said. “Because boosters and [alumni] and ex-players -- they all know how it is, man. It’s hard, you're living check to check and you don’t have enough money to go out to the movies or any kind of leisure activity. And you’re not allowed to get a job. Especially when I was in college, they were a lot more stringent on those rules, so at any given chance I got the opportunity, I took a free handout. Absolutely.” 

Foster's claims drew scrutiny from Tennesse fans, and he appeared to backtrack on his remarks on Twitter on Friday. 

Vol fans, it was a joke. I didn't get no where near 50k.

— feeno (@ArianFoster) January 30, 2015

Anybody that went to college w me knows I ain't get no 50k lol

— feeno (@ArianFoster) January 30, 2015

Foster previously admitted in the 2013 documentary “Schooled: The Price of College Sports” that he accepted money while at Tennessee.

The 28-year-old went undrafted in 2009. Over six seasons with the Houston Texans, Foster has rushed for more than 6,300 yards and earned four Pro Bowl nods.