XFL Salaries: How Much Money Do Players & Coaches Make From Contracts?

Getty Cardale Jones is one of several former NFL players in the XFL.

The average XFL player’s salary is $55,000 which includes the base pay along with a bonus for being active during each game, per Pro Football Talk. Players are also awarded a bonus for being on the winning team. XFL player contracts allow them the flexibility to sign with an NFL team when the season ends in April.

The compensation data is based on a memo distributed to agents, but some are disputing the XFL’s claims. Corey Vereen was selected by the Los Angeles Wildcats in the eighth round of the XFL draft but opted not to play in the league for financial reasons. Vereen’s agency Logan Brown Sports issued a statement on Twitter laying out what they believe to be discrepancies with the financial numbers the XFL initially announced.

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. The base salary is $27,040 with per game active bonuses of $1,685 and weekly win bonuses of $2,222,

The statement went on to say that Vereen would continue working in the computer science field but would be open to playing in the league “when salaries reach an appropriate minimum.”

An XFL Coach’s Salary Is Estimated to Be $500,000

During a 2019 interview, XFL commissioner Oliver Luck noted that coaches will have a salary of around $500,000, per XFL Newsroom. Former Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops headlines the group of eight XFL coaches. Stoops is joined by the following coaches, per Athlon Sports: Jim Zorn (Dragons), Marc Trestman (Tampa Bay), Winston Moss (Los Angeles), June Jones (Houston), Jonathan Hayes (St. Louis), Pep Hamilton (Washington D.C.) and Kevin Gilbride (New York).

“Each roster will have roughly 25 people on the football side and 25 people on the business side,” Luck noted, per XFL Newsroom. “Salary for coaches will be around $500,000 and salary for the top players around $250,000. Players will also be drug tested for performance-enhancing substances.”

Top XFL Players Can Make $250,000

While $55,000 may be the average salary, the top XFL players can make even more money as Oliver estimated that the best talent will get paid $250,000. According to XFL Newshub, the player salaries are structured into four tiers on a per-game basis. Tier one players earn between $25,000 to $60,0000 per game, but each XFL team can only have one franchise player in this range. This is where most teams’ starting quarterbacks will likely land as XFL Newshub detailed.

Each team will pick one franchise player to fit in this pay scale. At $250,000-$600,000 on the season, this is competitive with the NFL minimum salaries for Rookies and Veterans. While blue-chip pass rushers or other exceptional players from the NFL could land here, I expect that tier 1 will consist mostly of QB’s.

XFL teams can have up to three players in the $15,000 to $17,500 per game range. The majority of players on an XFL roster will be either tier three which ranges from $6,000 to $10,000 or tier four at $5,000 to $6,000 per game.

With the AAF failing to complete a full season for financial reasons, all eyes will be on the XFL to see if it can create a sustainable spring football league. With the modest player salaries when compared to the NFL’s average wage of $495,000, it appears as though the XFL is being wise with how it distributes money as the league tries to find its footing in the first season of the relaunch.