Players on the Buffalo Bandits playing roster have salaries based on experience and performance.
The franchise usually gives one-year contracts that rise from year to year. Top players can negotiate a longer and more lucrative contract.
The NLL has a salary cap but the Bandits can provide top-ups from a discretionary bonus pool. Read on for the details.
This article was edited after the playing roster was completed for the new 2022/2023 season.
How We Calculate Salaries
NLL franchises don’t publish player salaries. However, some details across the league were released during the 2018/19 negotiations between the NLL and the players association.
The Buffalo Business First reported in 2018 on the different salary ranges at that time. Since then, the new agreement resulted in a 25% increase phased over four to five years.
This can be applied as a 4-5% increase per year until now.
We also learned more about the bonus structures during a bidding war for Doug Jamieson between the Halifax Thunderbirds and the franchise that was the Black Wolves.
Clubs have a $30K bonus pool that can take individual players over the maximum salary range. The Bandits don’t have to pay out to the maximum but they must distribute at least $16K each season.
How Much Do Players Earn At Buffalo Bandits?
Rookies at Buffalo Bandits receive a base contract of US$13K. They make from $15K to $21K in their second year.
A veteran player earns a minimum of $19K. This rises every year to a maximum salary of $37K.
The average salary across the Bandits’ playing roster is $25K.
Apart from the average, the above numbers are rounded to the nearest one thousand dollars. We have the raw numbers later.
Franchise tag exception
That average salary doesn’t include the extra income that can be awarded to one franchise tag per season.
The club can give a total package of $46K to one player who is prevented from switching to another team.
Monthly wages
These figures may seem low. But bear in mind that the NLL season is about six months long.
I’ve put the monthly equivalent in the table below. These numbers aren’t rounded.
| Status | Annual (US$) | Monthly (US$) |
| Rookies | 12,408 | 2,068 |
| Second-year minimum | 14,824 | 2,471 |
| Second-year maximum | 20,215 | 3,369 |
| Veteran minimum | 18,433 | 3,072 |
| Veteran maximum | 36,626 | 6,104 |
Who are the top earners?
Dhane Smith was awarded MVP in 2022 for an outstanding season. He led the league in points at 135.
So, it was no surprise when the NLL tweeted that the Bandits put the franchise tag on the ace forward.
This elevates Smith’s base contract to $46K. per year.
The Bandits can also provide extra funds to Smith from the bonus pool. But there are some other outstanding players who we believe receive additional funds from the pool.
Matt Vinc was voted goaltender of the year at the NLL awards. His 747 saves and .807 save percentage were as much a contribution as Smith’s to the Bandits’ season.
And what about the 21 turnovers and 116 loose ball recoveries of Steve Priolo? His performance brings a few thousand dollars extra to his contract.
Two of these three players also have extra duties on and off the field. Steve Priolo and Dhane Smiths are team captains.
This also shows how much a head coach rates a player. You can be sure that captaincy ensures that players get a bump to their contract.
Which Bandits players are paid the least?
The minimum contract across the league is just over $12,500. We rounded it up to $13K in our earlier summary.
This is the entry-level salary for draft picks on the active roster.
The Bandits had six draft picks in 2022. None made the playing roster on the opening weekend of the new season.
In contrast, Tehoka Nanticoke was a draft pick in the summer of 2021 who made the playing roster through the 2021/22 season.
The current season is his second year. That puts him on a salary between fifteen to twenty thousand dollars. Given his impact last season, we expect him to be on the upper end of that range.
And that doesn’t make him the lowest-paid player at the franchise. The Bandits have several players on the practice squad.
These guys only earn one to two thousand dollars per season.
Other players?
Using the tiers we’ve revealed, you can usually work out the broad earnings of players based on their age and experience.
We’ve put the year of birth in our detailed list of the full Buffalo Bandits roster.
Playing In The PLL
Some players finish their season in the NLL and then play outdoors in the Premier Lacrosse League.
If you’re interested in the additional income for a player like Max Adler, check out our review of player salaries at Chaos Lacrosse Club. Dhane Smith also played for Chaos.
Justin Guterding also extended his lacrosse income by switching leagues. We have more details in our look at player salaries at Whipsnakes.
Employment Outside The Lacrosse World
NLL players are employed by their franchise for about six months of the year.
They also don’t train full-time during the season. The standard schedule is to travel for training on Thursday evening or Friday morning.
That allows Bandits players to work outside of the sport. Let’s look at a few to get a flavor of what they do.
I’ve focused on some of the older guys who are most likely to have senior positions in professional roles.
Max Adler is a senior financial analyst at Walt Disney. He moved into this role after nearly three years as a financial analyst at ESPN.
Justin Guterding is another player who works in the entertainment industry. He is a senior account manager at Paramount.
Yes, we’re talking about the company behind Top Gun (we won’t mention Sonic The Hedgehog).
Ethan O’Connor is an analyst at M&T Bank in the New York area.
How Do Buffalo Bandits Afford Player Wages?
You may be wondering if gate receipts are enough to cover player wages now and in the future.
Part of the challenge for NLL teams is that the new Premier Lacrosse League has raised the bar on payment and benefits. You can find out more in our review of salaries in the PLL.
Fans understandably get worried about whether the franchise owners can withstand financial pressures in uncertain times.
Check out our review of the owners of the Buffalo Bandits. It’s fair to say that Terry and Kim Pegula have deep pockets.
