How much do USFL players earn? Review of the new league’s salary structure in 2022
As the NFL’s offseason and free agency period continues, players signed record-breaking contracts, resetting the league’s pay scale in multiple positions. By comparison, the USFL has instituted a standardized salary for every player in the league for the 2022 season. After Week 1 action, all USFL South Division teams have a chance to earn the maximum of nearly 70 $000 this season. Let’s dive deeper into how the USFL distributes player salaries.
USFL Player Salary Structure
So how much did each player earn for their appearances in Week 1 of the USFL season? For each match, a player is on a team’s 38-person active roster, they will receive $4,500. Additionally, the USFL pays the team that wins the game an $850 bonus. These payments create a USFL 10-week base season salary of $45,000. Additionally, an undefeated USFL team would earn $53,500 in the regular season alone.
Players on the active roster aren’t the only players, though. Practice squad players receive a salary of $1,500 each week from the USFL, generating a payout of $15,000 if they stay on the practice squad all season.
The USFL has already paid players $600 per week for the duration of their team’s four-week training camps, creating an additional payment of $2,400 before the start of the season. The undefeated USFL team mentioned earlier would earn $55,900 heading into the playoffs.
USFL Championship Bonuses
The top two teams from each division will meet in Canton, Ohio to advance to the USFL Four-Team Playoffs on Saturday, June 25. While we don’t know if the payout to win the semifinal will be more than $850, the payout to win the USFL Championship will be $10,000.
If a South Division team leads the table and wins the USFL Championship, their season salary is a total of $66,750. This number assumes that the winning bonus for the semi-final remains at $850, but there is always a chance that this total could go even higher.
There is a stark difference between the USFL of the 1980s. Today’s USFL is trying to establish enduring power.
While limiting the salary a player can earn to such a low number could hurt the amount of talent, it will help the USFL not overextend itself financially the first few seasons. It wouldn’t be surprising to see franchises receive a salary cap in the future once USFL revenue and expenses become more consistent.
