Finances of the USFL Players Going to the NFL
by Pat Rifino
The USFL has once again been trending and for good reason too! Since the completion of its inaugural season, the USFL has seen 51 of its players transition into NFL training camp. *As of August 16th, 15 of those players have been cut with 1 (Panthers DT TJ Carter) getting claimed by the Rams and allowed to fight for his NFL career for at least one more week. Something that hasn’t been mentioned that much is the diversity of the pay scales and NFL journeys that many of these players have been on.
As stated 51 players have signed NFL contracts. While many are signing league minimum contracts plenty of players have made a living bouncing between practice squads, injury settlements, and even some being on active rosters. The pay range is huge as well, ranging from $650 (Domenique Davis) to around $2.2 Million (De’Vante Bausby) while 14 of the 51 players have never received an NFL paycheck.
I think it’s important to realize this as it humanizes many of the players. While players in the USFL did make around $45k for around 10 weeks of work (plus incentives etc) many have been forced to stretch out this income for years upon years. A perfect example would be former Breakers QB Kyle Sloter.
Sloter has bounced around the NFL since 2017. He’s played on 7 NFL teams and has worked out for about 26 franchises. He’s earned about $1.4 Million Dollars over his 5-year career, averaging out to about 300k per year. Now while I don’t want to sound like I’m sympathizing for millionaires I will say that between taxes, trainers, fees to agents, and general living that 1.4 disappears rather quickly, and for many Sloter’s career could be viewed as a success to the general populace and most likely many of his USFL teammates.
For many of these players like Luis Perez the success story isn’t as romantic. Though Perez is definitely a success story in his own right, his financial success in the NFL is less than desired. Perez has earned two practice squad paychecks in the NFL earning $15,200. He’s been a UDFA since 2018, running around the AAF, the XFL, the Spring League, the USFL, and several NFL camps. With the finances of the AAF unknown, the XFL having pro-rated salaries due to the pandemic, and the Spring League being paid to play the $15,200 earned in the NFL was clearly used up pretty quickly. Unfortunately for Perez, his story is way more common than Sloter’s and a reality for many of his USFL counterparts fighting for an NFL spot.
So far out of the 51 USFL players who were signed by NFL teams, 15 have been with 1 so far getting claimed. Out of those 15, 13 have earned an NFL pay-check leaving 37 players with an opportunity to still chase their dreams. Now I know I’m throwing a lot of numbers out but it’s extremely important that we as fans understand this.
Understanding the finances of these players helps fans realize the importance of all these spring leagues. It’s not only a way for players to get a shot of showcasing their skills, but it also allows players to provide a living for themselves by doing something they love.
With NIL in college allowing players to be compensated by private companies while in school, plenty of players who may not make an NFL roster will at least leave the collegiate ranks with some sort of compensation or at least be in a position to. However, many active NFL, USFL, FCF, and prospective XFL players did not have such an opportunity.
While the compensation in the USFL and XFL will not be as much compared to NFL franchises (and shouldn’t be) it does provide a level of comfort and opportunity for many athletes. For fans it’s important we do our part to help these leagues succeed as when the leagues succeed our favorite players we have grown to love watching continue to be able to take care of themselves and their families.
Personally, it’s important to be cognizant of some of the financial information we have access to as it allows fans to realize how much these spring leagues are. While they are essentially feeder/development leagues for the NFL, they also provide an avenue of freedom for hundreds of young men. Also, on a selfish level, who doesn’t love watching football all year long?
