XFL

The XFL may not be spending much money on their players, but the latest fledging football league surely has spent a nice chunk of change on its lawyers.

A standard XFL player contract has been prepared and distributed to agents, with clear indications on the document like “confidential” and “do not circulate.” (So much for that.) PFT has obtained a copy of the standard XFL contract and its attachments, and some highlights and key takeaways appear below.

First, the document is, according to an XFL memo accompanying the contract, “non-negotiable.”

Second, the contract specifies a weekly salary of $1,040 per week, with an anticipated gross amount of $27,040. It also promises a $1,685 payment for each game played, and $2,222 for each win.

Third, the players get no royalties for merchandise sold by the XFL, including presumably jerseys and other items bearing their names.

Fourth, the document permits the player to leave for the NFL, but only after the end of his team’s season. The XFL’s championship game will be played on April 26, one day after the NFL draft concludes.

Fifth, the contract includes a broad waiver of rights to pursue legal claims in court, with an argreement to arbitrate disputes and a promise to enter into no class actions.

Those are just a few of the significant terms of the XFL contract, which is skewed against the players in part because there is no real competition given the implosiong of the AAF. Each player will have to decide whether to take it, or whether to leave it.

Ultimately, XFL players will need to decide whether they need the protection that comes from unionizing. One thing is very clear in that regard: If the XFL players choose to form a union, the ensuing labor contract most definitely will not be non-negotiable.