This article looks at the salaries and other earnings of Cannons 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 Cannons head coach
- Brand sponsorships
- Coach and assistant coach roles at school and college level
- Private camps and clinics
- Employment unrelated to lacrosse
Which Cannons 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.
The top four draft picks across the league get a bonus. But Cannons traded away their 2022 first draft pick last season to Atlas in return for Paul Rabil.
These are the college players they drafted:
- Bubba Fairman, Maryland
- Colin Kirst, Rutgers
- Bryan McIntosh, Hofstra
- Asher Nolting, High Point
We can also expect more experienced players who weren’t in high demand from other clubs to be on or near the base contract.
For example, Cannons picked up Adam Charlambides from the player pool in 2022. He’s a talented player but wouldn’t have good leverage to negotiate much higher than the base contract.
How We Estimate Player Salaries
Cannons 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.
However, we have enough information to put together some reasonable ranges based on experience and status.
We know that Sean Quirk, head coach at Cannons, 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 Quirk for what they think they’re worth.
Most Cannons players don’t reach the $35K league average
The league has stated that the average pay for players is $35,000. But we calculate that most players don’t reach that number.
How so? Follow along, it’s not hard…
Four college draft players on the base contract make a total of $100K.
With the cap at $735K, that leaves $635K left for the rest of the roster.
Let’s say that there are a total of 25 players on the full roster. If the other 21 players were paid the same after the rookies take their cut, each would get about $30,240.
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-Stars must be making more than the solid pro who doesn’t make every starting line-up.
I took a long look at the Cannons roster and came up with reasonable salary ranges that make the numbers work.
Salary ranges
Several players on the Cannons roster were All-Stars in the 2021 season. These are the players who were in the best position to negotiate for higher salaries (we’ll get into the specific figures in a minute).
We also expect team captains to be in the highest salary range.
In order for the stars and team captains to earn more than the average contract, at least fifteen experienced players must earn less.
We figure that the Cannons 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 Cannons?
All-Stars and captains at Cannons Lacrosse Club earn from $35-$38K per season.
Experienced players who regularly make game-day rosters earn from $25-35K per season.
Draft picks receive a base contract of $25K.
Veterans who were not in demand from other clubs are also on the base contract.
These figures may seem low but remember that this is for a season that is about five and a half months. I’ve put the monthly equivalent of the top end of these ranges in the table below.
| Status | Annual ($) | Monthly ($) |
| Rookies | 25,000 | 4,545 |
| Developing | 27,000 | 4,909 |
| Senior | 30,000 | 5,455 |
| All-Stars | 38,000 | 6,909 |
Who Are The Highest Earners?
There were three players in the 2022 Cannons roster that made the All-Star team in the previous season. Their club wages will be a minimum of 35 thousand dollars.
Two 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:
| Name | Captain | All-Star |
| Zach Goodrich | Y | |
| Brodie Merrill | Y | Y |
| Lyle Thompson | Y | 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 will vary from $3-10K for dedicated lacrosse gear brands and up to $20K for bigger brands that sponsor the top players in the league.
Cascade and Maverick (two brands within one company) were some of the first sponsors in the PLL. They sponsor Jake Froccaro.
East Coast Dyes (ECD) are excellent at working social media during the PLL weekends. They sponsor Ryan Drennan.
Interestingly, ECD doesn’t insist on exclusive access. Drennan also wears STX helmets.
Brodie Merrill gets sponsorship from New Balance and Warrior.
Those are the big lacrosse brands but there are smaller equipment and gear brands looking to up their profile through player sponsorship.
For example, Gait Lacrosse is a stick manufacturer that sponsors Stephen Reyfuss.
These kinds of sponsorships don’t just come with extra income. The players also get customized gear through the season. Of course, that has the monetary value of not having to pay for replacements.
Coaching At Schools And Colleges
Several Cannons players have coaching roles at school or college level.
I should point out that players may take volunteer positions i.e. are not paid. For example, Matt Abbott is a volunteer assistant coach at Colgate University in New York.
But Abbot also has a senior role as an investment advisor with a private firm. I’ll look at that type of employment in a later section.
I expect that two of the Cannons players get part-time remuneration for their coaching roles.
Zachary Goodrich is a lacrosse coach at the Naval Academy Preparatory School in Rhode Island.
Jake Pulver is an assistant coach for the Pittsford Central School District in New York.
Coaching Camps And Clinics
Another source of income is to coach at private lacrosse clinics and camps.
Some players run their own branded clinics, which is probably more lucrative but takes more administrative work.
Other players are hired by companies that plan and manage clinics across North America.
Shayne Jackson and Brodie Merrill provide coaching at two different academies for youth players in Ontario.
Asher Nolting coaches with 3D Lacrosse which has training camps across the country. Nolting is involved with the New England branch.
Playing In The NLL
Some players start their season indoors in the National Lacrosse League and then play through the summer in the PLL.
Lyle Thomas was Cannon’s first pick in the PLL’s entry draft in 2021. He also plays in the NLL. If you’re interested in how much additional income that brings, check out our review of player salaries at George Swarm.
Shayne Jackson also doubled up with Cannons and the swarm.
Employment Outside The Lacrosse World
Cannons players are 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 can take on players for a four-day work week.
Some Cannons players have well-paid jobs outside of the sport. Let’s look at a few to get a flavor.
Christian Cuccinello joined Accenture as a junior analyst and has worked his way up to the senior position of management consultant. I know some people at this giant enterprise, and their consultants have to graft!
Jack Kielty is an underwriter for CM&F Group, a firm providing liability insurance for healthcare professionals.
These are perhaps the typical investment and insurance roles we associate with lacrosse players.
Jake Froccaro bucks the trend. He owns and operates eight Mexican food joints across New York.
How Does Cannons Afford Player Wages?
You may be wondering if the gate receipts and television revenue for the league are enough to cover player wages at Cannons.
The answer is that they’re not.
However, Cannons and the PLL have some very wealthy investors.
I’ve described a few of the big hitters in our article about who owns Cannons.
