How Much Do Dallas Jackals Players Earn? (2024)

Let’s review the salaries of Dallas Jackals rugby players in Major League Rugby.

It’s true that salaries are private contracts between the franchise and players. Dallas Jackals don’t publish the details.

However, information gets around the small circles of Texas rugby. We’ve collected and reviewed all the details from credible sources.

Table of Contents

How Do Dallas Jackals Players Get Paid?

Before we get into the figures, we’ll check the different ways that players earn their total income.

Monthly salaries may just be a portion of their earnings. A player’s full income can come from several sources.

However, many players in the Jackals squad solely earn through club wages. The other options on this list will only apply to a selection of players.

Club salary
Assistance with accommodation and rent
Assistance with part-time employment outside the club
Part-time coaching
International match fees (these are not paid by Dallas Jackals)

Subsidized rent

Younger players often choose to share accommodation arranged through the franchise.

Each pays a small contribution for a room in a big comfortable house. This works out well in a relatively high-priced city like Arlington.

Even senior players may prefer to share with teammates. This often occurs with a small cluster of overseas players from the same country.

This won’t be attractive to players with partners and children. But families can also get some rent assistance.

Part-time coaching

Experienced players may be offered part-time coaching roles. That doesn’t necessarily mean that they are involved in coaching their Dallas Jackals teammates.

They may be coaching through the academy program run by the franchise. These players will have gone through the formal coaching courses regulated by World Rugby.

For example, Henry Trinder of England has coaching experience with Ampthill RFC, an amateur club in the Championship (second level) division of English rugby.

Helping with part-time employment

The MLR competition lasts seven months. Franchises encourage lower-paid players to get a second income during the off-season.

Some players on the fringes of the squad (i.e. rarely making the match-day 23) may also take part-time jobs during the season that can fit around their training requirements.

What Do Dallas Jackals Players Get Paid?

If you check out our general overview of salaries in Major League Rugby, you’ll see that the star players can earn up to $45K.

However, the Jackals franchise hasn’t targeted high-profile players from overseas.

Average salaries for rugby players with Dallas Jackals

Senior rugby players at Dallas Jackals earn from $25K-$30K per season.

Mid-range players with several years of experience are on $14K-$20K.

Less experienced players are paid about $10K per season.

The lowest pay is for part-time players paid on an hourly contract rate at minimum wage.

These salaries may seem low if you are familiar with contracts in other countries. I’ll give you some comparisons at the end of this article.

Impact Of The Salary Cap

MLR franchises are not allowed to exceed an agreed cap on the total salaries for their squad. The level is currently $500K.

Franchises can increase their cap by participating in a set of player and community development activities. Meeting the development targets means that the franchise cap increases by $250K.

It hasn’t been confirmed that Dallas Jackals hit the targets laid out by MLR.

However, the Jackals have benefitted from other franchises bartering for increased cap space.

For example, the Dallas franchise accepted the transfer of two players from Rugby ATL in May 2022. This allowed the Atlanta franchise to free up space, while the Jackals got two decent players.

How Do The Jackals Afford The Player Salaries?

You may be wondering if the gate receipts are enough to cover player salaries. The answer is that they’re not.

However, the Jackals are backed by an investment group led by the co-owner of an MLB team and the president of an NBA team.

You can read more in our article on the ownership of Dallas Jackals.

How Does Dallas Jackals Compare With Clubs In Other Countries?

We mentioned Henry Trinder, who played in the top flight of the English Premiership. He also did a stint in the French D2 (the second division).

There are also some South African and New Zealand players at the Jackals who were on the fringes of Super Rugby teams.

So, how does a rugby salary at the Jackals compare with elsewhere? Well, it’s lower. But if you want the details, check these articles out: