Big Dollar in XFL Football

The XFL is all the rage. This professional football league is the brainchild of none other than the WWEs very own Vince McMahon. Never one to shy away from a challenge, the WWE CEO took matters into his own hands, and shouldered the burden on his broad shoulders. At inception, McMahon pledged to invest a whopping sum of $500 million in the XFL over the course of the first 3 years of the league. The XFL garnered substantial credibility with the appointment of a football commissioner in the form of Oliver Luck, and this time around the XFL seems to have staying power. Oliver Luck is hugely experienced in college football, playing for the Mountaineers of West Virginia University, and then the Houston Oilers when he joined the NFL, among his many outstanding accomplishments.

The XFL's wheels are greased with lots of cash, and players certainly won't be wanting for high-paying salaries. The XFL initially paid players $45,000 per season, but now things are looking much rosier at an average of $75,000 per player per season. Thanks to increased demand, the XFL is a lucrative side hustle for professional footballers. Of course, the payday for extremely talented footballers is much higher than that. Having said that, the XFL certainly doesn't have nearly as much juice as the NFL – the ultimate football league where paydays routinely run into mega-millions for players for the season. Nonetheless, the XFL is a great side gig for professional footballers looking to add tens of thousands of dollars to their purses.

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Who's Earning what with the XFL?

We already know that the XFL consists of 8 premier franchises, including the following:

* The DC Defenders
* The Seattle Dragons
* The Dallas Renegades
* The Tampa Bay Vipers
* The New York Guardians
* The Houston Roughnecks
* The Los Angeles Wildcats
* The Saint Louis BattleHawks

There is also a ninth franchise which is not uncommon in professional football, and it includes players that aren't actively playing on the other teams. This is known as Team 9, and is basically a form team and practice squad. It doesn't compete in any games against the other 8 teams, but it is a 40-man squad nonetheless.

Some are saying that the players who perform well in the XFL may go on to bigger things such as the NFL. However, the commissioner believes that the XFL has its own identity and is separate from the NFL. He dismisses reports that the XFL is a developmental league. In terms of big dollar payouts, the XFL has instituted a series of tiers which are pay scales for players. These include the following:

* Tier #1 – $25,000 – $60,000 per game 1 Franchise player per team is selected for this tier; it pays $250,000 – $600,000 per season to this player.
* Tier #2 – $15,000 – $17,500 per game 3 Roster spots will be available for Tier #2 for the season. This is reserved for high-value propositions.
* Tier #3 – $6,000 – $10,000 per game  Most teams will fill Tier #3, with 23/45 positions made up of Tier #3 players.
* Tier #4 – $5,000 – $6,000 per game  The Final 18 positions on the roster are made up of Tier #4 players.

Can the XFL Go It Alone?

I like the concept of an alternative football league to the NFL, and we should really see the XFL as a stand-alone league – not related to the NFL in any way. With enough money to keep players interested, and big media personalities like Vince McMahon spearheading this exciting initiative, good things will certainly come from it. Since the draft already took place in October 2019, we are seeing lots of exciting action taking place right now on the football pitch. Not everybody makes the cut for the NFL, and many of the prospects that don't get signed have an opportunity to shine in the XFL.

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*Photo of XFL Courtesy of Brandon Wade and AP