The XFL returns under new ownership in 2023, offering players and coaches that haven’t been able to make their mark in the NFL another chance to get noticed. For most involved in the XFL, the NFL is still the goal, and a big part of that is the difference in the XFL salaries compared to the NFL. Let’s take a look at how the XFL and NFL salaries compare both for players and coaches.
2023 XFL Season Start Date
The return of the XFL comes the weekend after Super Bowl LVII. We’ll see the first two games of the 2023 XFL schedule kick off on Saturday, Feb. 18, with the other two games of Week 1 on Sunday, Feb. 19. The regular season will then run for 10 weeks, with the two-round playoffs taking place over the following three weeks.
How Much Do XFL Players Make vs. NFL Players?
XFL players were paid $800 a week during the five-week training camp. Once they make the final roster, players will sign a contract that has a base salary of $59,000 for the season. That is made up of a salary of $5,000 per game and a $1,000-win bonus. There is also a benefits package, reported to be worth as much as $20,000. Therefore, a player who makes the roster and is active for all regular-season games will earn a minimum of $50,000.
A base salary of $50,000, or $5,000 a week, is more than the base USFL salary of $45,000 for a 10-game season. However, it’s still significantly lower than the minimum NFL salary. A player with no service time in the NFL must be paid a minimum of $750,000 for a season. That averages out to $41,666.67 per week across an 18-week NFL season.
MORE: List of XFL Team Names
At a minimum, NFL players earn 833% more per week than XFL players. In the NFL, the minimum salary varies based on service time. For a player with seven-plus years of service time, the minimum salary is $1.165 million per year. That works out to $64,722.22, or 1,294% more than the minimum XFL salary.
It’s also worth noting that a player who is not active for an XFL game will earn just $1,500 per game. In the event of making an XFL roster and being inactive for all 10 games, a player would earn a minimum of $15,000. Inactive players will also reportedly be eligible for the win bonus, so they could earn as much as $25,000 for the season despite not playing a single game.
How Much Do XFL Coaches Make vs. NFL Coaches?
There hasn’t been a definitive report on how much the coaches are being paid in the 2023 XFL season. In the previous iteration of the XFL, commissioner Oliver Luck revealed that head coaches would be paid around $500,000 a season. Given that a number of the head coaches have remained for the 2023 XFL season, it would suggest that they are being paid a figure in a similar region.
When we compare the pay for head coaches to other football leagues, it compares favorably with the USFL and CFL. It also compares well to head coaching roles at smaller college football programs and comes with fewer responsibilities, such as recruiting players.
When we compare the salary of head coaches in the XFL to the NFL, it is seen to be considerably less. Most NFL head coaches are believed to earn upwards of $3.5 million, with the highest-paid head coaches earning as much as $20 million a year. However, an XFL head coach’s salary is believed to be in the same region as position coaches earn on average in the NFL.