1-on-1 with DP – 93.7 The Ticket KNTK - The Evolution of the NFL Pay Scale: July 7th, 11:45am

Episode Date: July 7, 2025

The Evolution of the NFL Pay ScaleAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

You're listening to one-on-one with DP. Brought to you by Mary Ellen's Food for the Soul on 93-7 The Ticket and the Ticketfm.com. Welcome back. And I gave the disclaimer. I let you know, again, it's one-on-one, so we don't know where down the rabbit hole we go. And this is pretty spectacular. So today's average NFL salary is $2 million a place. Different type of investment, box.

But we'll go through in the quick history. And remember, again, you know, back in the day, players needed to have a second job. And that's why they had the relationships with the towns that they do. But the first big-time salary in the NFL was Red Grange, 1926, roughly $100,000, the first NFL, large contract and we did that we did the mathing and that would equate to $1.8 million today. But this was this was 99 years ago, $100,000. Then the next few decades, and as the article declares, player salaries depended on their star quality and teams and the teams that they played for.

Some teams are stingy with money while others paid in other ways. In the 1950s and think Johnny Unitas and those Colts, the average, the average, average player was making $6,000 a year, $6,000 a year. So much so. And they knew that this was so ridiculous that the Baltimore Colts made it right in their minds, made it right, because they had a beer company in Baltimore. And they would pay the Baltimore Colts three cases of beer per game on top of their $6,000. And that was a part of the recruiting process, part of the signing process.

The financial breakthroughs started when the Players Association, one recognition in 1970, and the owners agreed to a $9,000 year minimum salary for rookies and $10,000 for veterans. The minimum salary began to creep up. But again, in 1970, $9,000 and $10,000 for veterans. Then rival leagues popped up in the 70s, including the AFL, the American Football League, the World Football League and then the United States Football League in the 80s.

Salaries jumped out of the building, and the most famous of those agreements was with San Francisco quarterback John Brody, who ended up, a lot of folks saw on NBC calling games later in his career, after his career, he was offered $750,000 to go to the American Football League. At the time, he was making $35,000 a year with 49. and was offered $750,000. Then the NFL strikes in 1982 and 1987 led to an explosion of salaries. This helped the average salary go from 198 in 1986, so $198,000, so $200,000 in 1986 to almost $800,000 by the start of the 93 season after the strikes.

And then, and then. Here's the home run hitter. that in 1995, there was a team in the league and an owner who signed a player to a $35 million contract that loaded the back end with bonuses and had a very small base salary in the first three years. Other owners cried foul saying the circumvented the league salary cap. The NFL now requires each distorted contract. It does not allow for such distorted contracts in the future. Bach, let the people know what organization that was. That was the Dallas Cowboys.

The evil empire. The evil, evil, evil empire. Tried to circumvent the rules and back pay and Bach to further dig the knife into the wound. Let him know what player it was. The more things change, the more things stay the same. It was Dion Sanders. Bro, you can't. I'm telling you,

we miss so much of the history just by not seeking, looking into it. But it is fantastic to even think about how crazy some of the numbers are. And we said, business is impacting, money is impacting the fan experience

and the fan access. And it's a thing that if you just continue to say it, You'll understand it a little bit more. You'll understand it a little bit more. The game evolves, the business evolves, but my goodness gracious. And Bill and Bennett, yeah, I am 100% stuck on the Ultimate Warrior Day at the ticket. At some point, face paint. And I said this, Bach, here's a million-dollar idea.

Bach, do you want the idea? Yeah. You want the idea. Okay. And it'll be Bach, Trademock, Bach Incorporated. A Husker face paint that you, that's pre-made. A Husker, like the Husker Inn? Yeah.

Right? Ultimate Warrior style. Like the temporary tattoos? Yeah. But the face paint. Like the mask is already painted and you just slap it on for game day and you peel it off and it's there for the day. Right? But it's all Huskers.

Love it. Yeah. That'd be great. Bach Incorporate. We'll be back for our number two one-on-one. Watch live on Facebook, YouTube or Twitch. You're listening to One-on-One-on-1 with DP on 93-7 The Ticket and The Ticketfm.com. I'm