Getty Cardale Jones is likely one of the highest-paid XFL players.
The average XFL salary for players is $55,000 but top players can earn more money, per Pro Football Talk. XFL players get paid in three key ways: base pay, active roster bonus and additional money for each win.
The minimum salary for XFL players is $2,080 every two weeks which equates to $27,040 for the entire season, per Yahoo Sports. Players can earn an additional $1,685 for each game they are on the active roster, a reality for 46 players on the 52-man rosters. Finally, each win earns XFL players a $2,222 bonus. Given this is more than most players’ weekly base pay, teams are highly incentivized to win games.
Most XFL players will earn well below the NFL minimum salary of $495,000, per Pro Football Talk. The XFL is as much about an opportunity for exposure for players as it is earning a living. Many of the XFL rosters are full of players with ties to the NFL who are looking for an opportunity to get back into the league.
XFL Quarterbacks Can Earn as Much as $500,000
Starting quarterbacks can earn much more than the average XFL salary. Yahoo Sports reported that the top quarterbacks will earn more than the NFL minimum salary which puts them in the $500,000 salary range. It is not clear if every starting quarterback is making this amount or just some of the top former NFL players like Cardale Jones and Landry Jones.
Previous reports indicated there was a four-tier salary structure, but Sporting News reported that the XFL denied this was the case. The XFL appears to be similar to the NFL in that quarterbacks make significantly more money than the other players on the roster. Prior to the launch of the league, XFL commissioner Oliver Luck noted that top players would make around $250,000 while coaches have a $500,000 salary.
“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.”
XFL Players Are Not Permitted to Sign With an NFL Team Until After the Season
The XFL will block players’ attempts to sign with an NFL team while the new league’s season is still ongoing. XFL players are free to sign with an NFL team after the season ends in late-April.
This rule makes sense for the XFL given the season is only ten weeks and ensures the top players continue to play as the league attempts to build an entirely new fan base. This would be more challenging if the best players quit the league while their team is still playing.
“They are free to go to any league once their season ends,” an XFL spokesperson explained to Yahoo Finance.
This rule is unlikely to prevent an XFL player from landing an NFL job. XFL players will still have plenty of time to complete the season and sign with an NFL team prior to training camp which typically begins in July. The XFL admitted they blocked the NFL’s attempt to sign players even before the league started.
“Once a player signs a contract — once he passes his physical and signs a contract — then he’s under contract with us,” Luck noted to Tampa Bay Times. “We won’t release that player to the NFL until after our season. We need certainty. We can’t just have guys peeling off. This happened to Landry Jones. Ben Roethlisberger got hurt, and Landry had backed up Ben for years. First phone call was, ‘Can Landry come to the Steelers?’ Nope, sorry. He’s ours. We signed him.”