XFL Player Salary Discussed, XFL Draft, Timeline for 2023 Season

XFL Senior Vice President of Player Personnel Doug Whaley and Senior Director of Player Administration and Officiating Operations Russ Giglio spoke with agents Monday night regarding player compensation, the XFL Draft, and the timeline for the 2023 season.

The meeting consisted of in-depth details regarding what players will be paid for the upcoming season. Both Whaley and Giglio spoke as well regarding the XFL Draft and how they are working through the evaluation and drafting process. The timeline for the upcoming season and how it will all play out was also discussed as many have a better idea of how it will all work out.

XFL Draft Details

With the six XFL player showcases completed, the director of player personnel and scouts are now evaluating all the players that were in the showcases. DPPs are heading to NFL training camps to evaluate players that could be good fits for the XFL.

One note that was mentioned is because of the high turnouts, there is a possibility that another showcase could be scheduled sometime in the future.

Specialists will have their camp hosted by former NFL kicker Nick Novak on October 23rd which could possibly be the date range of a potential seventh-player showcase.

As mentioned at the XFL Town Hall Sunday night, the draft will be occurring sometime in mid-November. The league is still working out how they would like to format the draft, but it appears it could end up being positional. There were mentions of there being potentially two or more supplemental drafts that take place afterward to fill the roster spots.

When it comes down to the size of the draft, Whaley mentioned potentially doing roughly 55-60 rounds of players being drafted to save room for other players to be signed afterward. The draft pool doesn’t necessarily consist of players who were at showcases as it could be a mix of both.

Players who were previously with the XFL and are not currently under contracts could be contacted to be a part of the draft pool. All players apart from the draft pool must not be under contract with any other league.

Quarterbacks in the XFL

The Director of Player Personnel is evaluating quarterbacks and bringing them to the XFL. The league is working out whether they wanted them drafted by teams or marrying them to a specific team. They are hoping to take the same approach as the 2020 XFL by signing eight quarterbacks off the bat to be in the league.

Their pay will be different from other players, but no details as to how much they will be paid. XFL quarterbacks who are assigned or considered higher paid will not be eligible to leave for the NFL until the end of the season or contract. The league expects an announcement on quarterback decisions by September.

An interesting note is how the XFL is emphasizing the development of quarterbacks in their league. They will have quarterback personnel that will work with quarterbacks at least three or four times a month. The focus during these sessions is working on their mechanics on the field and studying film/classroom work off the field.

XFL Training Camp/Roster Details

Each team will go into training camp with 66 players on their roster. Their plans are to have a minicamp sometime in December that could last four to five days in Arlington. The estimated start date for the training camp will be January 8th or 9th located around the Arlington area.

Five weeks will be the length of the training camp which is one week longer than it previously was back in 2020. Cut down for rosters will occur on either February 8th or 9th as the size will decrease to 50 players. On game day, each team will have 45 active players on the roster to play in the game. No free agency will exist with the XFL as they will sign players accordingly.

The league is going to have a regular season that consists of ten weeks of games. Their postseason will be two weeks long which includes the championship game being played on the weekend of May 6th. They haven’t picked a date for the championship game as they are trying to decide whether they want to have the game before or after the Kentucky Derby.

Player Contract Details

Each player in the XFL will receive a salary of $59,000 for the season with an additional $20,000 of additional benefits. The additional benefits include health insurance, housing, and meals as they are covered by the league. Here is the breakdown of the contract pays for players:

• At least a one-year contract
• Total Salary – $59,000
• $800 per week for players during training camp
• Players will receive $5000 per game
• $1000 bonus for winning the game
• $1500 a week for players who are inactive (they will receive a bonus for their team winning)
• Playoff bonuses are unknown but will be considered “significant” amounts for winning
• Contracts won’t be signed prior to the XFL Draft

Another talking point regarding players and their contracts was the NFL Alumni Academy‘s partnership with the XFL. This is designed to have players who are ready to go to replace injured players in the NFL.

There will be a three-week program in Arlington, Texas at Choctaw Stadium where players will receive life skill courses and on-the-field courses to prepare them to play football at any time.

The player pool will be roughly 200-300 players in it. Any player apart of the academy that isn’t on an NFL roster at the end of the season will have the option to opt in to an XFL contract. This is to ensure that they automatically have a spot in the XFL.