Players on the Rochester Knighthawks’ active 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 Knighthawks can provide top-ups from a discretionary bonus pool. Read on for the details.
This article was updated after the 2022/2023 playing roster was completed.
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 salary ranges (based on experience) were reported in 2018. Since then, the new agreement resulted in a 25% increase phased over four to five years.
Our calculations have applied this as a 4-5% increase per year to date.
We also know that clubs have a $30K bonus pool that can take individual players over the maximum salary range.
The Knighthawks don’t have to pay out the full amount but they must distribute at least $16K each season.
How Much Do Players Earn At Rochester Knighthawks?
Rookies at Rochester Knighthawks 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 Knighthawks’ 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
There is one exception where a player’s base contract can be above the maximum we specified above.
Every club can offer what’s known as a franchise tag to one player per season.
This is a one-year contract of $46K. It ties the player from switching to another team.
Players who are over 34 can reject the tag.
Monthly wages
The figures we’ve listed may seem low for hard-working athletes. But bear in mind that the NLL season is about six months long.
I’ve put the pro-rata monthly equivalent in the table below. These numbers aren’t rounded.
| Status | Annual (US$) | 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?
Curtis Knight joined the Rochester franchise in 2019 on a two-year contract. In 2022, they offered him a further three years.
You can be sure that Curtis is at the maximum veteran salary.
However, they may not have needed to dip into the bonus pool to convince Knight. A three-year contract is very attractive to players going into their thirties.
How long will Paul Dawson keep trucking? He’s the definition of a veteran. This upcoming season is his 17th in the NLL!
The Knighthawks rely on his experience and leadership as a captain. We expect that players awarded the captaincy to be at the top of the range.
Connor Fields made headline news (for lacrosse fans) when he switched from the Bandits to Knighthawks on a three year deal.
The four-time All-American is now into his fourth season in the NLL. His veteran status should bring him a contract at about $25-$30K.
What young players are rising in earnings?
Rylan Smith was selected in the 2020 draft, but Covid delayed fans from seeing the excellent young player. He hit the ground running for the 2021/22 season.
His scoring exploits brought him recognition as the Knighthawks Offensive Player Of The Year. Rylan’s rookie contract was $13K.
We can be sure that his second year brings him the maximum contract at that level. The amount is just over $20K.
Thomas Vela is another young player in his second year, having joined from the 2022 Entry Draft. We expect him to be at the lower end of the second-year tier on about $16K.
We have the full roster for the Knighthawks here.
Which Knighthawks players are paid the least?
Rookies aren’t the lowest paid players at the club.
The practice squad players are not on the active roster so they don’t even get the minimum contract. These players earn about one to two thousand dollars per season.
Playing In The PLL
Some players finish their season in the NLL and then play outdoors in the Premier Lacrosse League.
Ryland Rees extends his lacrosse income by playing for the Waterdogs in the PLL.
If you’re interested in how much additional income that brings, check out our review of what players earn at Waterdogs Lacrosse Club.
Ryan Smith also switches between the two leagues. We take a detailed look in our review of what players earn at Chaos Lacrosse Club.
Other Employment Inside And 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 Knighthawks players to work outside of their playing career. Let’s look at a few to get a flavor of what they do.
Paul Dawson is a firefighter with the City of Brampton.
Turner Evans co-founded a company with his brothers that runs lacrosse camps and clinics. Turner also has ambitions to be a firefighter.
Riley Hutchcraft has a part-time role in running social media campaigns for the NLL Players Association. This may be a stepping stone into a full-time digital marketing career.
Curtis Romanchych works in sales for a power tool manufacturer. The Canadian covers the Greater Toronto Area when not in Rochester.
How Do Rochester Knighthawks 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.
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 Rochester Knighthawks. It’s a complicated history, but the current owners are billionaires.
