This article looks at the salaries and other earnings of Archers players in the Premier Lacrosse League.
Their entire compensation comes from several sources. We’ll review each in turn:
- Monthly club wage set by the Archers head coach
- Brand sponsorships
- Coach and assistant coach roles at school and college level
- Private camps and clinics
- Employment unrelated to lacrosse
Which Archers Players Are Paid The Least?
The minimum contract across the league is $25,000. This is the entry-level salary for draft picks and undrafted selections in their rookie year.
That gave Brett an extra thousand dollars over the other four draft picks and the two undrafted hires in 2022:
However, the top four draft picks across the league get a bonus. Brett Dobson was the fourth choice in 2022 when Archers picked him. His starting salary was $26,000.
- Ryan Aughavin
- Justin Inacio
- Matt Moore
- Jon Robbins
- Connor De Simone (not drafted)
- Frankie Labetti (not drafted)
We can also expect veterans who aren’t in demand from other clubs to take the base contract if they want to play in the PLL.
How We Estimate Player Salaries
Archers Lacrosse Club doesn’t publish player salaries. And although we talked to several contacts, it’s fair to say that the players themselves are fairly tight-lipped on the subject. Not disclosing numbers may be part of the contract.
However, we have enough information to put together some reasonable ranges based on experience and status.
We know that Chris Bates, head coach at Archers, has a league cap of about $735K per year for player wages.
As long as he keeps to the $25K minimum, he can allocate salaries however he sees fit for the club.
Of course, it’s up to players to sit down and negotiate with Bates for what they think they’re worth.
Most Archers players don’t reach the $35K league average
Assuming that the draft picks and rookies are on the base contract (with the extra for Dobson), that comes to a total of $176K.
That leaves $559K left for the rest of the roster. There are a couple of players out with long-term injuries, and I’ll assume that they don’t get full pay.
Let’s say that there are another twenty players on the roster (with a total of 27 players). If all these players were paid the same out of what’s left after the rookies, each would get $28K.
That is below the reported PLL average salary, so we know that this can’t be right. We also know that last season’s All-Star must be making more than the solid pro who doesn’t make the starting line-up.
I took a long hard look at the Archers roster and came up with reasonable salary ranges that make the numbers work.
Salary ranges
There are seven All-Stars from 2021 on the Archers roster. These are the players who were in the best position to negotiate for higher salaries.
But in order for them to earn more than the average contract, at least twelve experienced players must earn less.
We figure that the players fall within five salary ranges:
- Rookies
- Developing players or players who are no longer in demand elsewhere
- Senior players who aren’t guaranteed starters
- All-Stars and captains
So, let’s get into the numbers!
How Much Do Players Earn At Archers Lacrosse Club?
All-Stars and captains at Archers earn from $35-$38K per season.
Other experienced players who regularly make game-day rosters earn from $25-30K per season.
Draft picks and other rookies get a base contract of $25K.
Some veterans who were not in demand from other clubs are on the base contract.
These figures may seem low but remember that this is for a season that is about five and a half months. I’ve put the monthly equivalent of the top end of these ranges in the table below.
| Status | Annual ($) | Monthly ($) |
| Rookies | 25,000 | 4,545 |
| Top draft pick | 26,000 | 4,727 |
| Developing | 27,000 | 4,909 |
| Senior | 30,000 | 5,455 |
| All-Stars | 38,000 | 6,909 |
Who Are The Top Earners?
There were seven players in the 2022 Archers roster that made the All-Star team in the previous year. The club wages will be a minimum of 35 thousand dollars.
Three of these players are team captains. I expect that they get a bonus with the extra media duties and on-field leadership. This puts them at the top end of the range on a salary of about $38K.
Here is the breakdown:
| Player | All-Star | Captain |
| Marcus Holman | Y | Y |
| Will Manny | Y | |
| Adam Ghitelman | Y | |
| Grant Ament | Y | |
| Tom Schreiber | Y | Y |
| Scott Ratliff | Y | Y |
| Graeme Hossack | Y |
Sponsorships And Brand Advertising
It’s well documented now that Paul Rabil’s first sponsorship deal was with Under Armour for twenty thousand dollars. That was back in 2008.
There still isn’t another player who has gained his huge profile. But the dollar amounts now should vary from $10-20K for a small number of top players in the league.
Let’s take Tom Schreiber as an example of what one player can earn in sponsorships.
Epoch provides some level of sponsorship to a lot of players, but they have a special partnership with Schreiber.
I took a look at Tom’s website and he has several other brand sponsorships:
- Warrior (long-established equipment manufacturer)
- Motive Pure (sports drinks)
- New Balance (clothing)
- Lax Sniper (up-and-coming equipment manufacturer)
In addition, Schreiber is on the board of Lax Sniper as an “advisory member”.
Each of these sponsorship deals are likely around the $10K mark per year. But if a player like Tom can rack up four or five, then they are earning more in sponsorship than they get as their club wage.
Coaching At Schools And Colleges
Several Archers players have coaching roles at school or college level.
Marcus Holman has the most high-profile role. He is an Assistant Coach at the University of Utah. This is a family affair, as his father Brian is the Head Coach.
So, how much does an assistant coach make at college level? I looked at some current job listings and the salary is about $30,000 per year.
His Archers team-mate Grant Ament is a part-time coach at The Haverford School, a private all-boys school in Philadephia.
Coaching Camps And Clinics
Outside the academic year, plenty of players provide lacrosse clinics in the summer.
Some players run their own branded clinics, which is probably more lucrative but takes a bit of work.
Brett Dobson is still a youngster, which is why I nearly missed his camp. I’m of an older age that doesn’t use Instagram. Young Brett advertises his training and merch through his social media site.
Other players are hired by companies that plan and manage clinics across North America.
Marcus Holman was the instructor at a three-day camp in Georgia this summer with Pro Lacrosse Camps.
Playing In The NLL
Some players start their season indoors in the National Lacrosse League and then play through the summer in the PLL.
Connor Fields was one of the Archers roster who extended his lacrosse income by switching between leagues.
If you’re interested in how much additional income that brings, check out our review of player salaries at the NLL’s Buffalo Bandits.
Employment Outside The Lacrosse World
An Archers player is employed by the club for under six months of the year. They also don’t train full-time during the season.
The standard schedule is to take a Friday off for travel and training. That means that employers may take on players for a four-day work week.
Some Archers players have well-paid jobs outside of the sport. Let’s look at a few to get a flavor.
Scott Ratliff is an I.T. recruitment consultant with a firm that specializes in higher-end jobs and companies.
Going by his LinkedIn profile, he’s not a principal or partner yet. Those are the roles that bring in the big bucks.
But a consultant earns a tidy commission based on the starting salary of people that they place with companies. When you’re working with tech salaries, that can be very lucrative indeed.
I’d expect a consultant in this role to earn a base salary of about $60K and make about the same amount in commissions per year.
And it doesn’t stop there with Scott’s income streams outside of lacrosse.
He is also a poet with a book published in 2021. Of course, poetry is a labor of love instead of being a money-spinner.
How Does Archers Afford Player Wages?
You may be wondering if the gate receipts and television revenue for the league are enough to cover player wages at Archers.
The answer is that they’re not.
However, Archers and the PLL have some very wealthy investors.
I’ve described a few of the big hitters in our article about who owns the Archers club.
