Most people think of professional sports as the domain of big money contracts and expensive tickets. But in reality, there are many sports where the players make very little money. In fact, the lowest-paid professional sport is one that not many people have heard of: Arena Football.
Arena Football is a variant of American football that is played indoors on a smaller field than regular NFL games. It has been around since 1987, when Jim Foster invented it with the intent to create an accessible form of football for smaller arenas. The sport never really took off in popularity, though, and it has since had some financial troubles due to lack of fan interest and revenue generated from higher ticket prices and sponsorships.
Players in arena football usually play for much lower salaries than their counterparts in the NFL or major college leagues like the Big 10 or SEC. This year, most players will make between $400 and $700 per game — far less than even a rookie NFL salary which can range from hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars annually depending on their draft position. Even coaches often don’t receive any salary beyond their tickets and travel expenses when they go to away games.
The low wages aren’t just a problem for players either; they’re also damaging to teams who have difficulty recruiting quality talent without something more substantial to offer them. Plus, teams don’t generate much revenue due to their lower attendance numbers compared to other sports leagues, so even if salaries were increased significantly it would be difficult for most franchises to afford them long-term without finding additional sources of income.
In spite of these difficulties, arena football remains one of the most unique sporting experiences available today — with an intimate atmosphere that you simply won’t find at other sports venues across America. So next time you feel like going out for some exciting live action but don’t want to break your pocketbook in order to do it, head down to one of your local arena football stadiums — you won’t regret it!
