Recently, the XFL projected salaries of about $55K per year for its players. In actuality, those salaries could be even lower. 
“The salary schedule did not come close to matching what was talked about rampantly throughout the XFL combine workouts and was discussed online by many different sources,” agency Logan Brown Sports said in a statement (via Twitter). “The base salary is $27,040 with per-game active bonuses of $1,685 and weekly win bonuses of $2,222.”
LBS represents defensive end Corey Vereen, who was selected by the L.A. Wildcats in the XFL’s first ever draft. Because the pay is lower than anticipated, Vereen says he will not play for Vince McMahon‘s rebooted league.
Vereen is the first XFLer to back out of playing with the league, but if his take on the salaries is accurate, he probably won’t be the last.
The XFL’s two-day draft kicked off on October 15. On Day 1, notables including Christine Michael (No. 6 overall, St. Louis), Tommylee Lewis (No. 13, Dallas), Sammie Coates (No. 18, Houston), Cameron Artis-Payne (No. 20, Dallas), and Jace Amaro (No. 26, Seattle) found their new pro football homes.
stick to scripted fights between grown men in tights
How did these guys commit to a league without a concrete salary structure?
The same way these guys with $50mil contracts are declaring bankruptcy two years after retiring
They can go back to bagging groceries then
Similar pay scale.
With much less health risk
Vereen is a software developer and already gets paid more than this
And more than Mitch
Salary sucks, but give them a crack at another NFL job
So the league has yet to play a game and they’re in financial trouble?
If league is successful salaries will increase. Also, if the bonus is met, the end of the year pat could exceed $55k. Also, the base pay is the equivalent of minimum wage, which tens of millions of people make to work much worse jobs. So sick of entitled athletes.
Minimum wage isn’t worth the health risks you take playing football and the physical or mental toll you body takes.
it’s worth it if you get another chance at the NFL
These players already proved that they can’t even make a practice squad.
Tell that to all the college kids playing for free.
The answer, of course, is that they shouldn’t be.
The ones on scholarship aren’t… my student loans suck…
You can go get a job while at school. NCAA athletes may not.
I assume there are other jobs that pose risks, too. I understand you’re lust for a football player, but they aren’t the only person grinding.
How many minimum wage employees risk life changing injuries every day they go to work? Vince is a scum bag that has made a fortune off of taking advantage of talent.
Ask anyone that works the night shift at a gas station in the wrong part of town
How long is the season?
$27,040 over the weeks the season goes is not minimum wage. Though much less then even a practice squad player would make. If they had a chance to be on a practice squad they would be.
It is a 12 week season and 2 week playoff. Do all the numbers and if they were to “work all year”, they would be making approximately $110,000/year! Definitely more than minimum wage!!!! So everyone needs to hit complaining about how much Vince is paying! People are so ridiculous!
Except they have to pay for year round training on their dime It’s also very little compared to any other professional football player.
It’s more than what guys in minor league baseball are making.
Those players aren’t actively destroying their own bodies either.
They should’ve chosen a different sport then.
Complain, complain, complain. That’s what happens when your not good enough to play in the NFL! And secondly, I’ll GUARANTEE YOU that if the XFL has a successful season, they will increase the salaries for season 2!
So sick of people who don’t think athletes who risk their health on a day to day basis should be paid the same as the dude who works at 711.
who think*
Stop watching sports if it makes you sick,
Lol. Great point.
Actually, since the problem is this particular league, then don’t watch the league. Which nobody will since nobody will play in it since they ain’t getting paid jack.
If you dont like it then dont watch sports. Youre paying them via advertisement and cable subscriptions. Im so tired of people crying that others earn x amount less therefore the other groups (athletes) should suck it up. It’s a dumb argument that’s riddled with fallacies.
Hooray for fans who lick owners’ boots!
I thought they were doing things different and better this time?
So…what does everyone think? Will the league make it thru the first full season before it folds?
Question should be will they make it through more games than the AAF before folding. I think they will…barely.
No.
You guys can’t do math. 10 game season = 10 weeks. Training camp is 3-4 weeks. So 27k + (10×1685) / 14 / 40 = $78/hr. Now if you view it as a salaried position its $3132/wk so how is this in any way minimum wage?
Practice, team meetings, gym, travel time. Your math is flawed.
His math is on point. The only thing flawed is your thought process.
You think athletes should be compensated for time in the gym and while traveling? You’re reaching.
Regardless, the point that these salaries are ridiculous stands true.
So your employer sends you on training (practice) and you don’t expect to get paid during that time? When your employee says you have a job to do 500 miles away for 3 hours and you don’t expect to get paid to travel there? You are an employers dream.
It’s a job. Athletes are not contract employees.
Good God, libertarians are pathetic.
Why do they keep trying these leagues, they always go down in flames.
The salary structure is low, but that helps give the league a chance to survive. McMahon does know how to run a business which makes money and grows.
It’s not the NFL and doesn’t pretend to be. It’s a league of last chances, for football addicted fans who can’t go six months without their dose (end of playoffs, start of training camp).
He knows how to run a business where people who don’t want to admit the truth to themselves watching men in tights grab and roll around on a floor with each other…for the “story lines”, they say.
Those Shakespearian story lines.
Other than that is there any evidence he can run a business? The rest failed.
I thought the idea of a 71 man roster was a bit weird when I first heard about it. Looks like the XFL may have to scale back to 53 like the NFL in order to give everyone a salary boost.
The problem with the XFL/AAF is they’re a secondary market that thrives on local fans merely the for love of the the game which doesn’t attract fans anymore than AAA baseball. There’s no identity or affinity for the teams or league. It’s “Whatever League”, their own families probably don’t even follow them.
If these league attempts want any hope of recognition they need to find something unique that makes their “brand” stand out and feel at least little brother to the NFL or they’re not going to sell jerseys which in turn pays players real money.
If they can’t answer why somebody would be a “Wildcats” fan, then they’re not even getting ahead of high school football branding.
I believe that if you look at the attendance records of the AAF and the first go around for the XFL, the XFL had higher average attendance than the AAF did (even when you extrapolated the numbers for the AAF to equal the original XFL season length).Which, goes to show that the appetite for spring football has actually decreased in the time between the first XFL go and the ill fated AAF.
Not to mention the XFL is going into a lot of cities that already have NFL teams. That didn’t work well in Arizona last year with the AAF.
That’s a good point, AAA baseball teams which were established decades ago knew that to generate any kind of park fair dollar to their ballgames that they’d have to go away from major league affiliates.
The AAF did that some by going to different cities that don’t have NFL teams. The problem is historically rivalries weren’t 1000 miles away, they were right across the way.
Yankees/Red Sox, Bears/Packers, etc.
They might do better by creating a regional league where people can gain recognition at least. Recognition is the first step in reputation which is required to build a fan base.
Another difference between the XFL and AAA baseball – the players on an AAA team are there after (usually) having worked their way through the lower minors and are the proverbial “one step away” from the show. It’s expected that a huge percentage of those players, maybe even the majority, will be MLB players as soon as is possible; it’s what they’re being groomed for. As was mentioned in another post, the XFL is more f a “last gasp” sort of league; nobody in management in the NFL has any expectations for the league besides “maybe we can find one or two gems.” Perhaps comparing the XFL (as it currently seems to stand) to what, indy league baseball would be a better comparison.
That’s really good point. You’re right, the one thing lacking in the XFL is promise. Watching AAA or high school ball has some sense or dream of the future more than watching indie league softball. That is a better comparison.
Then that’s basically what their market consists of. If that’s the case they should make the environment more like a flea market or fair. Push a lot of their culture on tailgating and good times like a concert.
They have to generate memories and localized culture if that’s their market. Cuz you’re right, in terms of competition it’s “last gasp” product which isn’t really a incentivizing business model.
People might spend more money going to Hot Rod racing car shows, or hell, bull riding etc.
Welcome to the CFL. Awful, just awful.
i dont mean to complain about an article on a free site, but with all due respect to the author of this article, zach links, you didnt do the math. the salary projections as they have been reported several times on this site already, are accurate and not lower than projected. yes the salaries could be lower if a team goes winless but the projections are as stated in the articles are based on if a player starts all 10 games and their team finishes 5-5 and yes that adds up to 55k. this feels like a click bait article.
the base salary is $27,040. there is a game day roster bonus of $1,685 which if the player plays all 10 games is 16,850 for the season. there is a win bonus of $2,222 which if you multiply that by 5 wins is 11,110. so if you add 27,040 + 16,850 + 11,110 you will get an average salary of 55,000. which means the average PROJECTED salary for a player on a 5-5 team who plays every game is indeed 55k
I think the big thing that most people on here seem to misunderstand is, you were told you would make a certain amount of money and it turns out it’s half of the amount. Would you take half of what was promised? No you wouldn’t
Whoa guys, calm down! It’ll be just as entertaining as the previous XFL, I promise! Lol
By the time they get around to marketing XFL VI it will be almost as entertaining as the Puppy Bowl.