Xtreme Football League (XFL) was originally founded by WWE executive Vince McMahon back in 2001. After just one season, the league was shut down because the owners reported huge losses and it wasn’t fiscally responsible to keep it going.
After 17 years in 2018, McMahon revamped the old XFL and made changes to make this iteration better than the first one. The inaugural season started in 2020, but after five weeks of playing, the league had to shut down its operation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. McMahon’s company incurred losses twice and decided to let go of the XFL.
It was sold to Dwayne Johnson and his business partners for $15 million in 2020 and the third iteration of the league began on February 18. The XFL has gained a good following all across the country since the NFL entered the offseason. Football fans are intrigued by the new league and are tuning in to watch the sport.
XFL player’s salary is peanuts compared to the NFL
Since the league has been a bust in the past and it is relatively new, the pay scale of XFL players is on a lower scale compared to that of NFL players. As reported by Kevin Seifert of ESPN, on average, an XFL player receives $60,000 for the entire season. The contract of the majority of players includes a weekly payment of $5000 and a $1000 incentive for every victory.
The XFL has also included a bonus package of $20,000 along with two free meals per day during the regular season. The average pay for an NFL player for 2023 is $750,000, as reported by Seifert. The XFL salary isn’t anywhere near that of NFL players. Even a third-string quarterback earns more in a month than the XFL players do for an entire season.
Fans completely lost their mind after seeing the salary of XFL players. Here are some of the reactions of fans on Twitter.
It's about annual revenue.
NBA = $7.4B
WNBA = $60M.
That's why player salaries are different.
In football, minimum salary for an NFL player will be $750k in '23 ($44,117/game). In comparison, XFL players earn a base salary of $59k. It's all revenue-related.
— Matthew Lee Rosen (@MatthewLeeRosen) February 27, 2023How's it shocking? It's basically a developmental league.
— Erik Sabine (@eazy_E80) February 25, 2023It’s brand new..it hasn’t even had a single season yet..low salaries are not shocking at all
— Dustin Darabaris (@dustindarabaris) February 25, 2023Guys aren’t really playing in the xfl for the money it’s more about getting on tape for nfl teams to take a look at them
— Kevin Zwicker (@papi_kevo_) February 25, 2023Why would a new, twice failed football league being paying high prices.
— Mellow (@SomeDudeNJ79) February 25, 2023XFL is nowhere near the NFL’s fiscal cap
— Friday Phil (@fridayphil) February 25, 2023Once the league establishes itself, then maybe the salary of players will be increased. But in the end, XFL is just a stepping stone for players to enter the NFL. They get a chance to capture their skills and performance under pressure on tapes for NFL teams to view them. Let’s see if the curse comes to bite Dwayne Johnson as well or will the XFL finally succeed this time around?
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