Players on the San Diego Seals 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. However, San Diego Seals can provide top-ups from a discretionary bonus pool. Read on for the details.
How We Calculate Salaries
NLL franchises don’t publish player salaries. However, some details across the league leaks out during annual negotiations between the NLL and the players association.
Our calculations are based on salary levels reported in 2018. We’ve adjusted them upwards to represent further gains by the player association since then.
We also know that each club can use a $30K bonus pool to top up player salaries above the agreed ceiling.
San Diego Seals doesn’t have to pay out the full $30K. But they must distribute at least $16K each season.
How Much Do Players Earn At San Diego Seals?
Rookies at San Diego Seals receive a base contract of about US$13K. Their second year brings an increased contract of $15-$21K.
The minimum for veterans is $19K. The maximum base contract for the most valued veterans is $37K.
The average salary across the San Diego Seals playing roster is $25K.
Apart from the average, the above numbers are rounded to the nearest one thousand dollars. The raw numbers are in the table below.
The figures we’ve listed may seem low for hard-working athletes. But bear in mind that the NLL season is about six months long.
I’ve included the pro-rata monthly equivalent in the table below.
| Status | Annual (US$) | 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 |
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.
It ties the player from switching to another team. Players who are over 33 can reject the Tag.
Frank Scigliano signed a one-year deal with San Diego Seals in August 2022. The club promptly put the Franchise Tag on the veteran defender.
His one-year contract is $46K. This makes him the top earner for the season.
Here is a summary of all the wage tiers:
Who Are The Other Top Earners
Curtis Dickson was the all-time leading goal scorer at Calgary Roughnecks. Plenty of clubs were vying for the five-time All-Pro when he entered free agency in the summer of 2022.
There’s no doubt that the Seals gave him a top deal to bring him to San Diego. The maximum base contract is just under $37K.
We expect that the franchise topped that up from the bonus pool.
But that wasn’t the only big signing from the free agent pool. I mean, you can’t have too many star goal scorers.
The Seals also swooped for Kevin Crowley. We expect he is on the same maximum contract as Dickson with some extra funds from the bonus pool.
Which Young Seals Players Are Rising In Earnings?
Jacob Dunbar was selected 13th in the 2021 Entry Draft. His rookie contract was about $12,500.
His fine season led to the offer of a two-year deal in August 2022. His second season brings an increase in salary of about $5K.
We mentioned that the club applied the franchise tag to the veteran goalie Frank Scigliano.
But they also valued a young goaltender who was their second-round pick in 2021. Christopher Origlieri starts his second season as the second-choice goalie.
We expect his current salary to be around a $16K base.
Which San Diego Seals Players Are Paid The Least?
Rookies aren’t the lowest-paid players at the club.
The practice squad players earn about one to two thousand dollars per season.
Seals In The PLL
Some players finish their season in the NLL and then play outdoors in the Premier Lacrosse League.
Brodie Merrill extended his income in the summer by playing in the PLL for the Cannons.
Wesley Berg plays for the Chaos club.
If you’re interested in how much additional income that brings, check out these overviews of PLL earnings:
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 Seals players to work alongside their playing career.
Some players work within the lacrosse industry.
Kevin Crowley co-founded a lacrosse camp that provides both box and field coaching.
The clubs can also provide career opportunities to their players. Cam Holding is a project manager off the field with the Seals.
Other players get started on a career unrelated to their sport.
Dane Dobbie is a business development manager with Canada’s largest electrical distributor.
How Do San Diego Seals Afford Player Wages?
We’ve only covered a few of the players, but there are plenty more on the books.
You can see the current San Diego Seals roster here.
You may be wondering if gate receipts are enough to cover player wages now and in the future.
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 San Diego Seals.
